Silver in Australia

Silver companies in Australia

Those looking at the Australian silver market have a few options. There are many big players with interests in Australian silver, and plenty of smaller players for investors to consider researching as well.

Most silver comes from mines dedicated to other metals. For example, Glencore's (LSE:GLEN,OTC Pink:GLCNF) Mount Isa in Queensland produces mainly copper, zinc and lead, but silver is separated by the company's integrated processing streams. Glencore also operates the McArthur mine in the Northern Territory, which is primarily zinc, but between its copper and zinc assets, Glencore produced 6,521,000 ounces of silver in Australia in 2021 — over 180 tonnes.

Elsewhere, BHP (ASX:BHP,NYSE:BHP,LSE:BLT) produces a lot of silver at its Olympic Dam operation in South Australia. Perhaps best known for the production of uranium and copper, Olympic Dam also yields significant silver resources to the tune of 743,000 ounces in its financial 2022, just over 21 tonnes.

According to Geoscience Australia data from 2016, over 20 mines in Australia produced silver in that year, while there are dozens of other resources identified in each state.

A primary producer of silver is the Cannington mine in Queensland, where South32 (ASX:S32,OTC Pink:SHTLF), a company that was spun off from BHP in 2015, mines silver and lead. Cannington is a major producer, producing 12,946,000 ounces of silver in FY 2022, or 367 tonnes.

Tasmania has the Rosebery mine, which has seen 85 years of continuous operations and is currently owned by MMG (ASX:MMG,HKEX:1208). Rosebery, like all the others here, is polymetallic, and besides silver also produces copper, zinc, lead and gold. MMG also has the Dugald River mine in Queensland, which produces silver as well.

Getting into smaller companies, there are those like New Century Resources (ASX:NCZ), which restarted the Century mine in the Northern Territory for zinc and silver. Independence Group (ASX:IGO) also produces silver at its Jaguar project in Western Australia.

The future of silver in Australia

So, you get the picture — there's a lot of silver to be mined in Australia, and many companies have and will continue to take advantage of the ripe market.

It's worth noting that because silver operates both as a precious and an industrial metal, and is mined most often alongside base metals, it can be pulled in many directions. However, it traditionally follows (and lags behind) its precious metal sibling, gold, making it a valuable investment commodity to keep an eye on.

Looking forward, the future of the commodity in the land down under — especially given Australia's significant reserves and operator diversity — is likely to be bright.