r/SilverDegenClub

One part of the silver supply story deserves more attention: a lot of silver comes from mines whose main business is producing another metal.

The Silver Institute’s World Silver Survey 2026 reported that lead and zinc mines remained the largest source of silver in 2025. Higher silver output from copper operations in Peru also helped lift global mine production, which rose 3% to 846.6 million ounces.

That makes the supply response more complicated than “silver goes up, miners produce more.”

For a copper or zinc operation, decisions about expansion depend on the economics of the whole mine. Higher silver revenue helps, but so do the prices of the other metals, operating costs and the quality of the remaining ore.

My read is that this can make silver supply slower to respond to its own price. A rally can improve project economics well before it produces additional ounces.

There are other ways the market adjusts, though. Recycling can increase, manufacturers can use less silver, and investors can sell existing holdings. Limited mine growth alone does not guarantee higher prices.

Still, when judging the longer term outlook, I think it matters where the next ounces are supposed to come from and how quickly they can arrive.

Which do you expect to respond first to sustained higher silver prices: recycling, reduced industrial usage or new mine production?

https://silverinstitute.org/elevated-lease-rates-regional-liquidity-tightness-and-robust-investor-interest-resulted-in-record-silver-prices-in-2025/

On September 30, Feds daily securities lending hit $52.826 billion. I checked the past records,and the daily lending never topped $50 billion in the last year. I doubt it ever has. http://www.321gold.com/fed/temp_bank_res.html

This is like being in a deep ocean submersible vessel and a crack develops in the window. It has not failed yet, but is showing signs of overstress.