Silver

Ridgway, J.M.

Silver

Ridgway, J.M.. 1983 Silver. London, UK, HMSO, 114pp. (Mineral Dossier No. 25)

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Abstract/Summary

Silver, a heavy, soft, white metal with exceptionally high conductivity and reflectivity, was apparently known to man as long ago as 4000 B. C. It has been used in coinage in England since Saxon times and until the beginning of the 19th century was the basis of the English monetary system. At present 90% of silver is used for industrial, that is, non-monetary, purposes, with photographic products accounting for half of that figure. World silver supply is derived from both primary and secondary sources, and during the 1970s "above-ground" supplies of silver (waste, scrap, demonetised coin, etc) accounted on average for 40% of world total requirements. About 75% of world mine production of silver is obtained as a by-product or co-product of base metal mining, from ores frequently containing less than 35 g of silver per tonne, although in argentiferous tetrahedrite ores, which are mined primarily for their silver content, grades of 860 g per tonne are not uncommon. Mexico, Canada, Peru, USA and Australia together account for 75% of Western World primary silver production, while the EEC countries together account for about 8%. The shortfall between consumption and new, "under the ground" production (mine production) of silver is made up mainly from scrap, releases from private and government stocks and demonetized coin. Silver has been mined in Britain since the Roman era. During the period 1851-1950 over 800 tonnes were extracted, about a quarter of which was raised between 1861 and 1870. Present mine production in the UK is extremely small (as a by-product of base metal mining), but there is a large silver recovery and refining industry based on imported crude silver bullion, lead bullion, blister copper and lead and zinc concentrates, as well as scrap materials. The UK is also a major silver exporter, re-exporting large quantities of secondary silver refined in the UK. Consumption of silver for industrial uses in the UK amounted to about 622 tonnes in 1982 (20.0 million oz) as compared with 653 tonnes in 1981. In the United Kingdom, silver in ore in the ground is the property of the Crown. Royalty on the production of silver as a byproduct of base metal mining is payable to the Crown Estate Commission, except in Cornwall and Devon where it is payable to the Duchy of Cornwall. Hallmarking legislation in England, the earliest form of consumer protection, dates from 1238 and makes it possible to date a silver object with considerable precision.

Item Type:

Publication - Report

Programmes:

BGS Programmes > Economic Minerals

Funders/Sponsors:

Institute of Geological Sciences

Additional Keywords:

Mineral, Silver

NORA Subject Terms:

Earth Sciences

Date made live:

12 Aug 2025 09:40 +0 (UTC)