Mexico is a world leader in silver production and has been the world’s top silver-producing country for seven consecutive years. A huge number of companies have Mexico silver mines, and many are also exploring for the metal in the country, writes net magazine Silver Investing News.
The country has a long history of commercial silver mining. Silver mining in Mexico dates back about 500 years, though initially the country wasn’t the powerhouse it is today. Indeed, from the 1570s to the 1630s, mines in Peru overshadowed Mexican silver mines. By the 18th century, Mexico had gained the upper hand — silver accounted for over 70 percent of Mexico’s exports from the late 16th century until the 1870s.
In the modern times, writes Silver Investing News, began Mexico the export of vehicles, petroleum and machinery, but mining remains an important part of the country’s economy. As mentioned, Mexico is consistently a major silver producer, and at this point it seems unlikely that its prospects will change in the near future — last year, second-place Peru produced 4,100 MT of silver compared to Mexico’s 5,600 MT.
Given its position as the world’s largest silver producer, it should be no surprise that Mexico is home to a vast number of silver mines. Many major miners have silver-producing mines in the country, though of course the country is home to smaller producers as well. The list of producers below is arranged in descending order of market cap.
It’s worth noting that most of the companies that mine silver, including the ones listed below, do not produce the white metal as a primary product. Silver is often mined as a by-product of gold, meaning that many of the Mexico silver mines listed below produce sizeable amounts of gold as well. Mexico is also a top gold-producing country, and the future of gold mining in the country looks bright, says Silver investing news.
Down below a brief overviews of the main players in the Mexican silver industry and what they are up to today: Fresnillo (LSE:FRES); market cap: GBP11.83 billion — Fresnillo is the top-producing silver company in the world. It has seven operating mines in Mexico, and its total attributable silver production came to 53 million ounces in 2016. The company is a subsidiary of Industrias Penoles (BMV:PE&OLES).
Pan American Silver (TSX:PAAS,NASDAQ:PAAS); market cap: C$3.88 billion — Pan American Silver produced 25.4 million ounces of silver in 2016. The company has three gold- and silver-producing mines in Mexico, and one exploration-stage project. At the end of 2016, the company’s mineral reserves contained an estimated 286 million ounces of silver.
First Majestic Silver (TSX:FR,NYSE:AG); market cap: C$2.09 billion — First Majestic Silver produced a record 11.9 million ounces of silver in 2016. The company has five Mexico silver mines, and also holds the Santa Elena gold-silver mine. The firm has another five silver exploration and development projects in Mexico.
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Coeur Mining (NYSE:CDE); market cap: US$1.81 billion — This US-based company produces silver and gold at its Palmarejo mine in Mexico. In 2016, the company produced a total of 14.8 million ounces of silver. As of the end of 2016, the company’s proven silver reserves at Palmarejo totaled about 7 million ounces compared to proven gold reserves of 126,000 ounces.
Fortuna Silver Mines (TSX:FVI,NYSE:FSM); market cap: C$1 billion — Fortuna Silver Mines has one silver-producing mine in Mexico and another in Peru. The company’s San Jose mine in Oaxaca produced 6.1 million ounces of silver in 2016. Its proven and probable silver reserves currently stand at 40.2 million ounces.
Endeavour Silver (TSE:EDR,NYSE:EXK); market cap: C$571.8 million — Endeavour Silver has three Mexico silver mines, two development projects and three exploration projects. The company produced 9.7 million silver equivalent ounces in 2016. As of the end of last year, its proven and probable silver reserves came to 10.6 million ounces.
Great Panther Silver (TSX:GPR); market cap: C$305.55 million— Great Panther Silver has three producing Mexico silver mines, as well as two exploration projects in Mexico.
Source: Silver Investing News