There is this bad info going around about "Silver market cap" flipping Apple or Bitcoin. This is wrong.
Silver is not like Gold. Gold once it is mined and refined sits in vaults or jewelry. All gold ever mined still exists.
Silver is consumed by industry. It is turned into a conductive silver paste that is applied to products. It is very difficult to recycle because such a tiny amount of silver is used in each. So it is not worthwhile to recycle. Only about 20% of silver is recycled from e-waste.
The $4.4 trillion "market cap" for silver is assuming that all 56 billion oz of silver that has been mined throughout history ... is still around and available. It is NOT. Probably 80% of the silver has been consumed by industry. It is buried in landfills.
It doesn't make sense to recycle it because it costs $200+ per oz to try to recover it. They have tried burning the e-waste, they have tried using chemicals to recover the silver. It always costs more than the silver is worth, so they give up.
If there were 56 billion oz of silver available around the world, then the price wouldn't be going through the roof.
All of the silver mining around the world produces about 820 million oz per year, and it is declining. Recycling (jewelry, silverware, some e-waste) produces 190 million oz per year. Global demand for silver is about 1.2 billion oz per year. That is the problem. Demand exceeds supply by 100-200 million oz per year and there is not enough extra silver in vaults to handle it anymore.
And now China is starting export restrictions on January 1, 2026.
Silver is not like Gold. Gold once it is mined and refined sits in vaults or jewelry. All gold ever mined still exists.
Silver is consumed by industry. It is turned into a conductive silver paste that is applied to products. It is very difficult to recycle because such a tiny amount of silver is used in each. So it is not worthwhile to recycle. Only about 20% of silver is recycled from e-waste.
The $4.4 trillion "market cap" for silver is assuming that all 56 billion oz of silver that has been mined throughout history ... is still around and available. It is NOT. Probably 80% of the silver has been consumed by industry. It is buried in landfills.
It doesn't make sense to recycle it because it costs $200+ per oz to try to recover it. They have tried burning the e-waste, they have tried using chemicals to recover the silver. It always costs more than the silver is worth, so they give up.
If there were 56 billion oz of silver available around the world, then the price wouldn't be going through the roof.
All of the silver mining around the world produces about 820 million oz per year, and it is declining. Recycling (jewelry, silverware, some e-waste) produces 190 million oz per year. Global demand for silver is about 1.2 billion oz per year. That is the problem. Demand exceeds supply by 100-200 million oz per year and there is not enough extra silver in vaults to handle it anymore.
And now China is starting export restrictions on January 1, 2026.
Bookmark this and share the link with anyone who claims that "silver flipped Apple" or "silver flipped Bitcoin".
It is stupid. Most of the 56 billion oz of silver, that were mined thru history, are gone.
It is stupid. Most of the 56 billion oz of silver, that were mined thru history, are gone.
Gold that is used in electronics is valuable enough that it is recycled.
Most silver is not recycled historically. Maybe 20% is recycled.
Most silver is not recycled historically. Maybe 20% is recycled.
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