Silver Mining around the world - By: Catherine Darcy

There are over 300 silver mines around the world. The majority of the Silver produced (80%) is produced as a bi-product of the mining of other ores such as copper, lead, gold, uranium and zinc. The 6 biggest silver producers are Canada, the former Soviet Union, the U.S.Mexico, Peru and Australia.

The key mining centres are as follows:

Australia. Silver is a major bi-product of the uranium-copper-gold mine at Olympic Dam, Australia. Silver is also mined at Broken Hill, New South Wales

England For centuries, Cornwall, Devon and Durham were silver mining areas (along with many other key minerals. However, deposits are now nearly completely depleted.

Canada. Silver is a major resource. The silver cobalt veins in Cobalt Ontario produced more than 400 million ounces before shutting down in the late 1980s when the process became unprofitable. In both Ontario and British Columbia, silver is a significant bi-product of lead and zinc mining while the Eskay Creek mine in British Columbia is now the largest producer of silver in North America.

The US. Coeur d'Alene in Idaho has become the world's largest producer of Silver and has yielded more than one billion ounces since the 1880s from its legendary mines: Lucky Friday, Hecla, Galena, and Sunshine. Utah's silver production comes as a bi-product of Bingham's copper mines. The Red Dog mine in Alaska also produce silver as a bi-product of their lead mining industry.

Czech Republic. This is one of Europe's leading producers of minerals, including Silver.

Central and South America- Silver is among the many minerals taken from the great mining corridor in Mexico, producing 10% of the worlds annual total. (36.8 million ounces). Chile and Peru remain the other big players in Latin America.

A brief summary of the key silver mining regions of the world

Catherine D’Arcy is the founder of Corazon Latino, an online retailer specializing in handmade silver jewellery. To see their exclusive range of contemporary silver jewellery, visit www.corazonlatino.com