Top Silver Production by Country

While it’s perhaps most important for silver-focused investors to be aware of how the metal is traded and when its price may rise again, those interested in the metal would also do well to be aware of which country has the most silver.

Knowing which country has the most silver is important for a number of reasons. Perhaps most crucially, having that knowledge can help investors identify silver investing opportunities. For example, if an investor is aware that a country is a major silver producer, they might consider investing in silver companies working in that country.

A silver investor following that strategy would likely have at least a little luck. Case in point: Mexico was the world’s largest silver producer in 2016, and because it’s a mining-friendly environment, many silver companies are seeing exploration and mining success in the nation.

However, that strategy won’t work in every case. Some major metals producers are less hospitable to public companies, preferring instead to extract the bulk of their resources via state-owned companies. That is often the case in China, though interestingly Silvercorp Metals (TSX:SVM) bills itself as the country’s largest primary silver producer.

All in all, those factors make it worth investors’ while to look at which country has the most silver. Here’s a brief overview of the 10 top silver-producing countries of 2016, based on the latest estimates from the US Geological Survey.

1. Mexico

Mine production: 5,600 metric tonnes

Mexico remained the world’s largest silver producer in 2016, with its output rising by an impressive 230 MT to hit 5,600 MT.

The country is home to Fresnillo (LSE:FRES), one of the most productive silver companies in the world. Fresnillo mines silver and gold at six different projects throughout Mexico, and has several other projects in various stages of development. In January, the company released its production report for the three months ending December 2016 and reported a record annual production of 50.3 million ounces of silver, a 7.1 percent increase compared to the same period in 2015. The company expects 2017 production to be in the range of 58-61 million ounces.

Interestingly, Goldcorp (TSX:G) is Mexico’s other large silver producer, and its Penasquito mine posted the second-highest silver production in 2013. Like many silver mines, Penasquito is primarily a gold project – silver is often coincident with other resources, and is regularly mined as a by-product. Silver production for the third quarter was 1.5 million ounces.

2. Peru

Mine production: 4,100 metric tonnes

In addition to being the world’s second-biggest silver producer at 4,100 MT in 2016, Peru features the largest-known silver reserves. With 120,000 known MT of silver, the country has a massive amount of untapped silver potential that could allow it to move up the rankings in the future.

The majority of Peru’s silver comes from the Antamina mine in Northern Peru, according to Kitco. The mine began as a joint venture between BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP), Glencore (LSE:GLEN), Teck Resources (TSX:TCK.B) and Mitsubishi (TSE: