How Much Silver Is Left in the Ground?
The US Geological Survey estimates that 610,000 tonnes of silver can be mined profitably from known deposits: its world reserves figure (MCS 2026). At the 2025 rate of 26,000 tonnes a year that is about 23 years of output. That does not mean silver runs out around 2049: in 1996 the USGS put reserves at 280,000 t, and since then the world has mined 678,000 t, 2.4 times as much, yet reserves are higher today. Peru has the largest reserves (110,000 t).
Silver reserves by country
tonnes, MCS 2026Reserves: deposits that can be mined at a profit with today's prices and methods. Reserves for Australia, Chile, China, Peru and Poland were revised based on Government reports. Australia JORC-compliant reserves were 22,000 t. "Other countries" together: 57,000 t.
Reserves by Country and Years of Output Left
Reserves divided by the country's 2025 mine output: how long they would last at that pace if no new reserves were found.
| Country | Reserves (t) | Of world | Mined 2025e (t) | Years left |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Peru | 110,000 | 18.0% | 3,600 | 31 |
| 2. Russia | 92,000 | 15.1% | 1,200 | 77 |
| 3. Australia | 91,000 | 14.9% | 1,000 | 91 |
| 4. China | 67,000 | 11.0% | 3,400 | 20 |
| 5. Poland | 59,000 | 9.7% | 1,300 | 45 |
| 6. Mexico | 37,000 | 6.1% | 6,300 | 6 |
| 7. Chile | 33,000 | 5.4% | 1,400 | 24 |
| 8. United States | 23,000 | 3.8% | 1,100 | 21 |
| 9. Bolivia | 22,000 | 3.6% | 1,500 | 15 |
| 10. India | 8,000 | 1.3% | 800 | 10 |
| 11. Argentina | 6,500 | 1.1% | 800 | 8 |
| 12. Canada | 4,900 | 0.8% | 400 | 12 |
| Other countries | 57,000 | 9.3% | 2,100 | — |
| World | 610,000 | 100% | 26,000 | 23 |
USGS, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 (Silver), published 6 February 2026. Years left: our calculation. Kazakhstan and Sweden have no published reserve figure. Countries' reporting rules differ (Australia's figure under the stricter JORC code is much lower).
The Reserves That Never Run Out
World reserves in past editions of the USGS survey, against the silver mined since.
Bars are USGS editions (only the years we have; older editions left out China and some other countries).
| Edition | Reserves (t) | Output the year before | Years of output |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 610,000 | 26,000 (2025) | 23 |
| 2025 | 640,000 | 25,200 (2024) | 25 |
| 2024 | 610,000 | 26,000 (2023) | 23 |
| 2023 | 550,000 | 26,000 (2022) | 21 |
| 2019 | 560,000 | 27,000 (2018) | 21 |
| 2006 | 270,000 | 20,300 (2005) | 13 |
| 2005 | 270,000 | 19,500 (2004) | 14 |
| 1998 | 280,000 | 15,300 (1997) | 18 |
| 1996 | 280,000 | 14,000 (1995) | 20 |
Reserves are not a fixed stock waiting to be used up. They are an inventory that mining companies keep topping up: higher prices turn lower-grade rock into ore worth mining, exploration finds new deposits, and better methods make old ones pay. So for 30 years silver reserves have stayed at roughly 13–25 years of output, while the world mined 2.4 times the reserves first counted in 1996.
Silver has an extra twist: about 70% of it comes as a by-product of copper, lead, zinc and gold mines. How much silver is mined in future depends mostly on demand for those metals, not on silver reserves or the silver price. Silver is mostly a byproduct of lead-zinc, copper and gold mines; polymetallic ore deposits account for more than two-thirds of U.S. and world silver resources. Most recent discoveries are associated with gold, but copper and lead-zinc deposits with byproduct silver will remain a significant share of future reserves and production. (No numeric world resource total is given.)
Silver supply
How Much Silver Is Left in the Ground? FAQ
How much silver is left in the world?
About 610,000 tonnes in known reserves that can be mined profitably today, according to the US Geological Survey (MCS 2026). That is roughly 23 years of mining at the 2025 rate.
Will we run out of silver?
Not on any foreseeable timetable. Reserves have equalled about 15–25 years of output for decades because they are replenished as fast as they are mined. What could change is cost: lower grades and deeper mines make each ounce more expensive. And because most silver is a by-product, silver supply follows copper, lead and zinc mining.
Which country has the most silver reserves?
Peru, with about 110,000 tonnes (18% of the world total), followed by Russia (92,000 t) and Australia (91,000 t).
What is the difference between reserves and resources?
Reserves are the part of a deposit that has been measured in detail and can be mined at a profit with today's prices and methods. Resources are everything that is known or estimated to exist, including deposits too low-grade, deep or remote to mine now. Resources are much larger, and some become reserves when prices rise.
How much silver is still in the ground compared with what has been mined?
Known reserves (610,000 t) are about 33% of the silver already mined (about 1.83 million tonnes). In other words, about 25% of all the silver we know of is still underground.
Sources: U.S. Geological Survey (Data Series 140, Mineral Commodity Summaries 1996–2026, Open-File Reports; public domain); Silver Institute (single figure quoted); Annual Report of the Director of the US Mint, 1900. Running totals, shares, years of output, cube sizes and dollar values are Corgano's calculations; dollar values use the live silver price. Researched November 2026.
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@misc{corgano2026howmuchsilveris, author = {{Corgano}}, title = {How Much Silver Is Left in the Ground?}, howpublished = {\url{https://silverprice.corgano.com/how-much-silver-is-left}}, year = {2026}, note = {Corgano Silver Price, accessed 2026-11-04}}