The History of Silver, Part 2

The discovery of the New Worldin 1492 and the discovery of large silver deposits there had a huge impact on the trade and use of silver. In addition new technological developments changed the methods of mining and refining silver. Let's continue the story of silver with the discovery of the New World and continuing to the modern day.

New World Silver (1500 - 1875)
Significant improvements in technology and discovery of the "New World" in 1492 led to a vast storehouse of mined silver that expanded silver production by nearly an order of magnitude, most particularly in the development of the mercury amalgamation process.

The first major exploitation of "New World" silver was in the Potosi district of Bolivia. The actual production from Bolivia, from 1500 to 1800 A.D., is difficult to quantify accurately. Spanish records indicate that about 1 billion troy ounces were produced in this time-frame. For the same period, about 1.5 billion troy ounces were mined in Mexico with the bulk being mined from 1700 to 1800.

Peru's production has been more consistent – production averaged more than 3 million troy ounces annually from 1600 through 1800. Historically, the Cerro de Pasco district has been among the leading sources of silver in Peru.

The Spanish produced Mexican silver beginning in the early 1500s. Production increased significantly in the 1700s, averaging about 9 million troy ounces annually. From 1500 through 1800, Bolivia, Peru and Mexico accounted for over 85 percent of world production and trade.

The remaining production in the period was derived largely from Germany, Hungary, and Russia, with lesser amounts from other European countries, Chile, and Japan.

After 1850, several other countries increased production particularly the United States with its discovery of the Comstock Lodein Nevada. Silver production continued worldwide, growing from 40 to 80 million troy ounces annually by the 1870s.

Silver in North America (1876 - 1920)
In the years 1876 to 1920 there was an explosion in both technological innovation related to silver production and the exploitation of new regions worldwide.

Production over the last quarter of the 19th century quadrupled over the average of the first 75 years to a total of nearly 120 million troy ounces annually.

A good deal of the new production was added from major new discoveries in the U.S., most notably the Comstock Lode area in Nevada, the Leadville district in Colorado and various districts in Utah.

Similarly, new discoveries in Australia, Central America and Europe greatly augmented total world production. The succeeding decades from 1900 to 1920 resulted in another 50 percent expansion in production to about 190 million troy ounces annually.

These increases were spurred by discoveries in Canada, the United States, Africa, Mexico, Chile, Japan, and various other countries. The explosion of technology that enabled steam-assisted drilling, mining, mine dewatering, and improved haulage was a major breakthrough.

Further improvements in mining techniques enhanced the ability to handle ore and allowed for exploiting larger volumes of ore that contained silver. The removal of precious metals from zinc by a technique called "fuming" provided a way to separate economically precious metals from moderate-grade complex ores.

The Modern Era of Silver (1921 - Present)
A variety of advances in the early part of the last century allowed for increased production worldwide. This was critical, as many of the high-grade ores throughout the world had been largely depleted by the end of the 19th century.

These advances included:

-Bulk mining methods, both at the surface and underground, capable of handling large amounts of lower grade base-metal ores that contained byproduct silver.

-Refinement of extraction techniques capable of separating various base-metal concentrates from ores.

-Improved techniques in ore separation, notably froth flotation (post 1910) that allowed for concentration of silver in lead, zinc, and copper concentrates.

-Improvements in electro-refining techniques allowing for the easy separation of silver and other base metals from refinery slimes, providing an increasingly important source of silver.

The explosion in the production of these various base-metal sources throughout the 20th century led to an increasing output of silver-bearing residue and ultimately, refined silver.

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