US Silver mine output plunged 14% over the first 5 months of the year according to the USGS.
Perhaps that is why we are now experiencing such extreme physical supply tightness in the silver market. The cartels can only push the paper price down so far before real world supply and demand fundamentals snap.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported Tuesday that U.S. silver production dropped 14% in May.
U.S. mines produced 84,900 kilograms of silver (2,729,600 troy ounces) in May 2012, a 14% drop from the 99,300 kg (3,192,570 ounces) of silver output reported during May 2011. The average daily production rate in May of this year was 2,740 kg (88,903 oz.)…
Domestic silver production for the period from January to May of this year totaled 411,000 kg (13,214,000 oz.).
U.S. Geological Survey figures show the United States imported 2.4 million kg (77,161,800 oz.) of silver with a value of $2.58 billion from January to May of this year. The U.S. imported silver bullion, silver dore, silver ores and concentrates, and silver ash and residues from Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Columbia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, Panama and Peru.
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Headline is a bit over the top. Hecla has had a few challenges with two mines is all. It’s not like we are running out of silver ore.
Yeah but…. it makes for great head lines!
But silver prices will continue to rise as the FED is forced to print it’s way out of a major debt hole.
Bullion metals ARE a store of value…
Fiat Paper Notes will “flame out” into ashes
Actually i hope the mines are pulling an OPEC, If the manipulation is costing them their profits its time they stood up.
The article did go on to mention Hecla’s 47% production decline, but no effort was made to put that into context.
Well if this is true? Would Silver skyrocket in price?
Well, I have 9 days and a wake up to see my prediction that a shortage in Silver will drive up prices. Will I be forced to wear the A** Hat or be a hero. We will see. I’m betting a bit of humiliation that i am right.
AGXIIK, put the A** Hat back in closet.
Technically, you’re already right (along with others, like myself, that have, for over a year in the least, pointed out how tight the market has been). The fact is, the smart investors among institutional players along with nation states are well aware of the fact that far more paper representations of silver exist than actual bullion. Regardless of the causal reasons, COMEX inventories, for example, have been on a steady decline as the smart money tries to accumulate physical silver in a way that doesn’t send the metal skyrocketing higher. No billionaire wants to have the fate of the Hunt brothers. Yet we’re still seeing COMEX inventories fall during a global economic contraction. Meanwhile, bullion banks perform feats of inventory gymnastics to try to deal with the situation. If all this stuff wasn’t the product of shortage, I don’t know what to call it! Maybe I should ask Jeff Christian. I’m sure he could come up with a justification and alternative adjective!
While the steady hoovering of silver into private and sovereign vaults worldwide hasn’t hit some sort of crisis inflection point just yet and perhaps not as dramatic as you were expecting per your specific forecast, the general trend of shortage / market tightness continues and is getting worse.
Other countries have hit some good silver strikes so I don’t think this is going to affect the price much.
We have blast off once again in the foreign markets..I can’t wait until tomorrow morning in New York. I hope Bill Murphy is right about the Morgue going down.
BHP Billiton delays Olympic Dam Expansion and takes 2.1M oz of future Silver and 700K oz of Gold off the market EVERY YEAR
http://ausbullion.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/bhp-billiton-delays-olympic-dam.html
Who cares man, just let it be fun. So far it surely is! Remember it’s a game. It was supposed to be their game, but erhm, outch, awww, it seems to be turning against them. Just keep your nerves and enjoy the ride. Same was true 2 yrs ago same is true now.
Cheers,
R3K
I guess this means some traders wanting physical delivery on delivery month will be getting 20-30% more profit on their trade, instead of the metal. Oh, sweet. Oh no, it just hit me, how many delivery months are between now and November?
It wouldn’t surprise me if production was slowed for price declines, think about it, the price has been heading south since leap day, it doesn’t surprise me production is down with a price drop. I’ll tell you what surprised me, when I first heard in 2011 the U.S. Mint produced more ounces of eagles, then total domestic mine production, I always site that fact when people ask about the eagle I carry with me.