Poland boasts the world’s largest deposits of silver ore

According to the United States Geological Survey in its report Mineral Commodity Summaries 2024, with newly discovered deposits, Poland has become the world’s leader in silver resources, which are estimated to be worth around PLN 500 billion. 

According to the US geologists’ report, Poland is ranked first in the world in terms of its silver ore deposits. The researchers claim that they reach 170,000 tonnes and are worth around $127 billion.  

Poland is followed by Peru (110,000 tonnes), Australia (94,000 tonnes), Russia (92,000 tonnes), China (72,000 tonnes) and Mexico (37,000 tonnes). The total world reserves are estimated at 720 thousand tonnes.

Poland mined 1.3 thousand tonnes of this ore in 2023, the same as in the previous year. The leader in world silver production is Mexico (6.4 thousand tonnes). China is the second (3.4 thousand tonnes), followed by Peru (3.1 thousand tonnes). Poland is still ahead of Chile (1.4 thousand tonnes).

At the current level of mining in Poland, the silver deposits will be sufficient for 130 years. 

The report also shows that Poland, despite its huge resources, is not a leader in silver exports. Between 2019 and 2022, the world’s main sources of silver imports were Mexico (44 %) and Canada (18 %), while Poland ranked third, supplying only 5 % of the world’s silver imports. 

For centuries, silver was used primarily as a means of payment – in the form of ore or coins – as well as for jewellery and decorative items that were not subject to damage, such as crockery. Today, silver is used in traditional photography, in medicine (antibacterial properties), in the electrical and electronic industries, in the chemical industry (as reaction ingredients and in the manufacture of equipment), as an additive to alloys of other metals to improve malleability, and even as a natural food colouring with the symbol E174.

Adrian Andrzejewski