Top Silver Supply Figures & Forecasts Are Incorrect
Let’s take a look at U.S. silver production first. If we look at the table below recently released by the USGS, domestic mine supply fell compared to the same period last year.
Total production for 2012 was 1060 metric tons (mt). If we subtract out December’s production (101 mt) we would get a total of 959 mt for Jan-Nov 2012…. 3 metric tons more than the same period this year. Furthermore, if production for December is 84 mt, then total production for 2013 will be 20 mt less at 1040 mt (2012 = 1060 mt).
These figures are according to the USGS data. However, if we go by figures released by the public companies in their quarterly and annual reports, we see a much different picture.
Here are the production figures for the top 7 silver mines in the United States:
(*Red Dog estimated production)
Hecla’s Greens Creek mine in Alaska increased production from 6.3 million oz in 2012 to 7.4 million in 2013. The second largest supply of silver in the U.S. comes from the world’s largest Zinc producer called the Red Dog mine in Alaska. Teck who runs the Red Dog mine doesn’t release silver production figures, so both the USGS and GFMS need to estimate production.