For the second consecutive year, production from global silver mines fell according to a new survey by the GFMS team at Thompson Reuters. The report highlighted that total physical output fell by 4.1% in 2017 to 852.1-million ounces.
GFMS noted that supply disruptions across the Americas were the primary reason why lower output took place in 2017. Peru, China, Australia and Argentina experienced production dips however the world’s top silver producing country, Mexico helped offset those losses with higher output.
Mexico Remains Number One:
For the past eight years, Mexico has displayed its silver dominance. In 2017, companies within Mexico extracted 196.4 million ounces of silver according to the World Silver Survey 2018. While the sector experiences tighter supplies with production dropping 4.1% between 2016 and 2017, there seems to still be lots of optimism for the Silver mining community in Mexico as production volume rose by 10.1 million ounces or 5%.
In conclusion, Silver mining in Mexico will likely see an increase in production once again but the overall supply is anticipated to decline for a third consecutive year.