– In terms of silver resources, this portal, according to information from 2023, gives us the third place with 65 thousand tons, after Peru – 98 thousand tons and China-71 thousand. A closer look at their national balance sheet indicates that the information about us is seriously understated – writes Adam Maksymowicz, contributor to BiznesAlert.pl.
- KGHM Polska Miedź S. A. is one of the leading producers of silver in the world, and Poland has the largest resources of this metal in the world. According to the Balance of Mineral Deposit Resources in Poland as of December 31, 2022, the balance resources of copper and silver deposits totaled 3,562.23 million tons of ore, containing 57.33 million tons of copper and 166.29 thousand tons of silver.
- In 2023, there was a shortage of silver, because demand exceeded supply. The deficit amounted to 184.3 million ounces and it is expected it will reach 215.3 million ounces in 2024
- The demand for silver, especially in the photovoltaic industry, is growing. Over the past two years, the amount of silver used in photovoltaic applications has surged by 64 percent, driven by its widespread use in this field of renewable energy.
For years KGHM Polska Miedź S. A. has occupied the first or second place in the production of silver in the world. And it looks like it will keep this positions for many years to come. This information, however, obscures an even more important fact – that when it comes to the availability of this metal Poland ranks first in the world and is way ahead of the global competition, which tends to underestimate our potential. This was well illustrated by Investing News Network (INN), an American-Australian-Canadian portal that specializes in educational news about raw materials. When it comes to the ownership of silver deposits, in 2023 Poland took the third place with 65 thousand tons following Peru with 98 thousand and China with 71 thousand. A closer look at their national balance sheet reveals that information about us is seriously understated. According to the balance sheet of mineral resources in Poland, as of December 31, 2022, copper and silver deposits in the Fore-Sudetic Monocline and the North Sudeten Pan areas totaled at 3,562.23 million tons of ore with a content of 57.33 million tons of copper and 166.29 thousand tons of silver.
That’s about as much as the first two countries combined. Probably, foreign media have incomplete information on this subject, hence their numerical discrepancy. Either way from our statistics it follows that we are a global leader in terms of silver resources, which, with at current extraction rate, will be enough for us for almost 100 years. The potential value of this silver is currently 1 gram-1 dollar, which in terms of its resources gives a sum of approx. $ 160 billion. Its partial recovery each year yields high revenues from the exploitation of this metal. They have been becoming more stable, because as of 2021 there is a shortage of silver as demand exceeds the supply. This state of affairs has contributed to the rise in prices and should continue in the near future. Strong demand combined with moderate supply growth resulted in a deficit of 184.3 million ounces in 2023, which is expected to increase to 184.3 million ounces in 2024. 215.3 million ounces in 2024. According to the latest report of the Silver Institute industrial demand for silver rose by 11 percent in 2023 to a record 654.4 million ounces, following an equally record year in 2022. Within two years alone, the amount of silver used for PVs has risen sharply by 64 percent, due to its massive application in this kind of renewable energy.
It is expected that as the demand for „green” energy persists, the demand for PV silver should grow at a rapid pace. For this reason, the Silver Institute predicts a 9 percent increase in demand for silver in 2024, which will translate into a higher price. However, in relative terms, silver is still cheap. Today, 1 ounce of gold requires about 80 ounces of silver, compared to the 20-year average of 68 ounces. This situation is well illustrated by the state of silver reserves on the London LBMA exchange, which fell to the second-lowest level in history in April, while volumes on the New York and Shanghai exchanges are near seasonal lows.
According to TD Securities, LBMA stocks could run out in the next two years, given the current pace of demand. According to Gregersen from Silver Bullion, we will slowly see a decrease in supplies, as industrial demand will be higher and higher. His concern is where to find silver sellers, not how and to whom to sell. The answer to this is that the largest silver resources in the world are in Poland, we just need to get involved in increasing its extraction.