Green Mining
Ag · Precious metal·← Metals

Silver.
The metal of electrification.

Highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal. Antimicrobial. Indispensable in solar panels, precision electronics, medicine, optics. In mining, rarely alone — it's gold's, lead's, zinc's, and copper's natural companion in polymetallic tailings. Green Mining recovers gold and silver together in South American operations since 2012.

47107.87
Ag
Argentum · Silver
Properties

Atomic and physical data.

Atomic number47
Atomic mass107.87u
Density10.49g/cm³
Melting point962°C
Electrical conductivity62.1MS/m
Mohs hardness2.5–3
Crustal abundance~0.08ppm
Group11 · d-block

Highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any known metal. Sources: IUPAC, USGS, Silver Institute.

Industrial uses

What silver is used for, today.

Rising demand driven by the energy transition and electronics — approximately 56% of silver goes to industrial use.

~15% of demand · growing

Photovoltaic solar panels

Silver-based conductive paste is essential in conventional solar cells. The energy transition multiplied demand — a typical cell uses ~10 mg of silver.

~25% of demand

Electronics and electrical

Contacts, solder, connector plating. In phones, PCs, cars, 5G networks. Irreplaceable in high-frequency, low-resistance applications.

~18% of demand

Jewelry and silverware

Sterling silver (92.5%). Relevant markets in US, India, Europe. Lasting aesthetics, accessible price vs. gold.

Biomedical niche

Medicine and antimicrobials

Wound dressings, implant coatings, water purification. Proven antibacterial action against multi-resistant bacteria.

Chemical industrial

Catalysis

Ethylene (PE plastic) production, formaldehyde. Silver catalysts move billions of dollars in global chemical output.

Reserve

Investment and coinage

Bars, investment coins (American Silver Eagle, Maple Leaf), ETFs. Smaller market than gold but with higher volatility and industrial correlation.

Why it's in tailings

Silver is almost always a co-product.

Unlike gold, approximately 70% of global silver production is a co-product of mining other metals — mainly lead, zinc, copper, and gold. That means two things: (1) silver recovery economics are tied to the main metal, and when conventional flotation concentrated gold or copper with limited efficiency, silver was also left behind; (2) polymetallic tailings are often rich in silver at historically undervalued grades because it wasn't the operation's focus.

In South American gold tailings, silver typically appears in a 5:1 to 20:1 (Ag:Au) ratio by mass — enough to move the recovery business case in many assets that would be marginal on their own.

Green Mining angle

Green Mining recovers gold and silver together.

In historic South American operation, field-validated since 2012, gold and silver are recovered in the same flotation stream. Chemical reagent design (proprietary resins and catalysts) is tuned per tailings profile — polymetallics, including gold–silver, are the highest value-add scenario per ton processed.

See the technology in detail
Next step

Does your asset carry silver as co-product?

Polymetallic tailings owner

Gold, silver, lead, zinc, or copper.

The assessment identifies which metal combination unlocks the asset. No cost, no commitment.

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Institutional investor

Exposure to gold and silver at scale.

Replicable model, modular plants, flexible metal flow.

Information for investors