Silver price surpasses $66: project economics lens for mine planners and engineers
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on MINING.com
30 Second Briefing
Spot silver surged as much as 4% to a record $66.50 per ounce, breaking its previous all‑time high and extending a sharp rally in precious metals. The move tightens margins for primary silver producers with high strip ratios and energy‑intensive underground operations, while boosting project economics for polymetallic deposits where silver is a by‑product credit. Developers of marginal resources and tailings reprocessing projects may now find previously uneconomic ore grades viable, potentially accelerating feasibility studies and reserve reclassification.
Technical Brief
- Price action occurred in the physical spot market rather than deferred futures contracts.
- Intraday volatility at these levels increases mark‑to‑market risk on unhedged concentrate offtake agreements.
- Existing silver price assumptions in reserve statements and feasibility models are now materially conservative relative to spot.
- Rapid repricing may trigger short‑term renegotiation pressure on treatment charges and refining charges for silver‑rich concentrates.
- Margin calls on short silver positions can affect liquidity for producers using derivative hedges.
- For polymetallic mining operations, silver revenue sensitivity analyses now require updating to reflect higher price scenarios.
Our Take
The move from breaking $60/oz on 10 December to a $66.5/oz all‑time high within days reinforces the tightness flagged in our earlier silver coverage, where Sprott cited shrinking free‑trading inventory and a forecast 2025 deficit; project developers can now justify accelerating marginal silver‑heavy deposits that looked subeconomic at lower prices.
Across the 28 silver‑keyword pieces in our database, several projects such as BMC Minerals’ polymetallic assets and Anglo Asian Mining’s gold‑copper‑silver operations are leveraged to by‑product silver, meaning this price level likely improves project NPV and could shift internal capital toward ore zones with higher silver credits.
Recent gold‑silver project stories like Skeena Resources’ Eskay Creek and McEwen’s El Gallo suggest that at $66/oz silver, operators with advanced permits or community agreements are positioned to move fastest, as they can lock in high-price offtakes or hedges before any supply response from new greenfield projects materialises.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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