Published : 2025-10-15
Following gold, the price of silver has skyrocketed and hit a new high in the second half of 2025.
At this point, you may be wondering how substantial China's silver reserves are? And which Chinese provincial administrative region is home to Asia's largest silver mine?
Silver has been a symbol of wealth since ancient times
Because it has a white lustre, silver is also called "bai yin" (white silver) in Chinese. As a precious metal, silver has been a symbol of wealth since ancient times, and the Chinese phrase "real gold and silver" (真金白銀) is enough to reflect its status.
In modern society, apart from its uses in financial investment and jewellery manufacturing that many people think of, silver is also widely used in industrial production, especially in high-tech fields, as a raw material for solar panels, electronic products, and batteries, due to its excellent electrical and thermal conductivity.
Currently, industrial applications account for more than half of the global silver consumption. As the world's largest manufacturer of electronic products, China has naturally become the main consumer of silver.
Another major silver-consuming country is India, where a considerable portion of silver is used to make ornaments.
That being said, the price of silver soared in the second half of 2025, and the reasons are certainly not limited to industrial demand.
Some believe this was influenced by geopolitical and economic uncertainty, while others believe it involved financial speculation. In any case, the spot price of silver in London broke through 52 USD per ounce in mid-October 2025, setting a new record high.
China's silver reserves exceed 70,000 tonnes
So, how substantial are China's silver reserves?
Data shows that China's silver reserves rank among the top in the world, but the specific ranking varies according to different sources and data, generally ranging from 2nd to 5th place.
According to data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in 2022, China's silver reserves were 71,000 tonnes, accounting for 13% of the global total and ranking 3rd; this data can be used as a reference.
Currently, the country with the highest silver reserves is the South American nation of Peru, which holds about 20% of the world's reserves. Other countries with large reserves include Australia, Russia, and Poland.
In terms of silver production, China was once the world's largest producer but has fallen to 2nd place in recent years, with a production of 3,400 tonnes in 2024. Currently, the largest producer of silver is Mexico, with a production of 6,400 tonnes in 2024.
Read more: World's largest gold producer! Which China's province has the most gold?
Why is it said that China is very short of silver?
Although China ranks among the top in silver reserves and production, it is worth noting that large silver mines make up less than 4% of the total, and standalone silver mines are extremely rare. Most silver deposits are associated with other metals such as copper, lead, and zinc, and the ore grades are generally low. Coupled with China's significant domestic consumption of silver, this presents another perspective: China is, in fact, highly deficient in silver.
According to media reports, China currently needs to import a large amount of silver, with its external dependency on silver reaching 50%.
After understanding China's silver reserves, let's talk about which provincial administrative region in China has the most silver.
China's silver resources are widely distributed; the Chinese provincial administrative regions that currently have large mineral deposits and the highest production include Inner Mongolia, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, and Henan, while Jiangxi and Yunnan are historically traditional silver-producing areas.
Among large silver mines, the Shuangjianzishan (雙尖子山) silver-lead-zinc mine is probably the most important one.
The Shuangjianzishan mine was proven in 2018
The Shuangjianzishan silver-lead-zinc mine, located in the northern part of Bairin Left Banner, Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia, was proven in 2018 and is currently under development.
Its silver reserves have reached the scale of 10,000 tonnes, accounting for over 20% of the national reserves. If calculated at the high price of 52 USD per ounce of silver, the value of 10,000 tonnes of silver would exceed 16 billion USD.
Media reports, citing data from the Silver Institute as of the end of 2023, indicate that the Shuangjianzishan silver mine ranks 1st in Asia and 5th globally. Moreover, Shuangjianzishan is a silver-lead-zinc mine; in addition to silver, it also possesses very rich lead and zinc deposits, with lead and zinc reserves reaching the million-tonne level.
In addition, when talking about silver in China, three cities and counties are also worth mentioning.
The first is Jiyuan City (濟源市) in the northwest of Henan Province, with a population of over 700,000. The city is currently China's largest silver production base, with its silver output accounting for about 19% of the national total; all the silver used for the 2008 Beijing Olympic medals came from there.
It is reported that Jiyuan's silver is mainly extracted as a by-product from the smelting of non-ferrous metal ores such as lead and zinc.
How does Yongxing in Hunan achieve "mining without mines"?
Another is Yongxing County (永興縣), the "Silver Capital of China", under the jurisdiction of Chenzhou City in Hunan Province. Yongxing is even more special; although it is a major silver-producing area, it has almost no metal mineral deposits.
How does it achieve "mining without mines"?
It turns out that this is achieved by refining and recovering silver from various types of industrial waste. Media reports say that the people of Yongxing have a history of over 300 years of using waste materials for "mining without mines"; of course, their technology and industry have long since been upgraded and standardised.
Finally, there is a city in China named directly after silver. Baiyin City (白銀市), located in the central part of Gansu Province, has a population of over 1.4 million and is a city that rose to prominence due to its mines.
Are its mineral resources silver? No, the main mineral resource of Baiyin City today is copper, and its copper production has ranked 1st in China for many consecutive years, earning it the title of "China's Copper Capital".
