Silver is one of the world’s most important industrial metals. From electronics to luxury watches and medical devices, it has hundreds of uses and has been used both as a store of value and medium of exchange for thousands of years. Below is a list of the world’s largest silver mines.

Poland

The Polish mine at Polkowice-Sieroszowice is the world’s second largest. It is operated by KGHM, an enterprise which is state owned, and has produced over 14 million silver ounces since 2012. Studies undertaken on the site indicate that it contains an estimated 545 million ounces. The facility is largely underground where blasting is used to extract the ore deposits. Copper can also be found here.

Mexico (Pitarrilla)

This is one of many silver mines that can be found in Mexico, and is the world’s fourth largest. Research conducted on the Pitarrilla site estimates that there were at least 478 million ounces available for processing. While feasibility studies were completed almost ten years ago, the decision of when to begin actual operations was delayed, but the mine is expected to be carried out by Silver Standard, which is a Canadian company based out of Vancouver which owns the site.

Before work can commence the mine has to be constructed which will cost over $740 million. Its development will involve the creation of a large pit by trucks and other tools, and both leach and flotation processing techniques must be used in treating the ore. Once the Pitarrilla site becomes active it is expected that the mine will produce about fifteen million ounces of silver annually over a period of eighteen years.

Bolivia

This site can be found near the city of San Cristobal which is roughly five hundred kilometers from La Paz. It has over five hundred million ounces of silver along with deposits of zinc and lead and is considered the world’s third largest silver mine. It is owned by MSC (Minera San Cristobal) which is a subsidiary that is part of Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation.

The mine is opened pit and extract’s deposits from the nation’s tin silver belt. Once the ore is extracted trucks will transport it to a nearby crushing plant, after which the processed ore will be transferred by conveyor belt to a concentration plant. The mine produces about six hundred thousand tons worth of ore every year, which includes zinc and lead concentrates.

Mexico (Penasquito)

This is Mexico’s largest metal complex as well as the biggest silver mine in the world. The site is located near Penasquito which is in northeastern Zacatecas. It is estimated that the total silver deposits contained here are just over 900 million ounces, but the mine also holds other important metals like zinc, lead and gold. It is operated and owned by a company called Goldcorp and begin its commercialized production in 2021. It uses dual opened pits and is capable of processing about one hundred and thirty thousand tons of metal per day.