coin, 5th century BCE.
British Museum. The historical record of silver mining dates back to 3,000 BC in
Anatolia. As silver is a
precious metal often used for
coins and bullion, its mining has historically often been lucrative. As with other precious metals such as
gold or
platinum, newly discovered deposits of silver ore have sparked
silver rushes of miners seeking their fortunes. Silver was a valuable metal that helped early civilizations around Ancient Greece. and helped provide a currency for the economy of
ancient Athens, where the process involved mining the ore in underground galleries, washing and then
smelting it to produce the metal. Elaborate washing tables still exist at the site which used rain water held in cisterns and collected during the winter months. By the year 100 AD, the epicenter of silver mining transitioned into Spain, where the
Roman Empire flourished.
Bergen and
Dublin are still important centres of silver making. An example of a collection of Viking-age silver for trading purposes is the
Galloway Hoard. From the mid-15th century silver began to be extracted from copper ores in massive quantities using the
liquation process creating a boost to the mining and
metallurgy industries of
Central Europe.
Americas , discovered in 1545, produced massive amounts of silver from a single site in upper Peru. The first image published in Europe.
Pedro Cieza de León, 1553. Vast amounts of silver were brought into the possession of the crowns of Europe after the
conquest of the
Americas from the now Mexican state of
Zacatecas (discovered in 1546) and
Potosí (also discovered in 1546), which triggered the
Spanish Price Revolution in Europe. Between 1500 and 1800,
Bolivia,
Peru, and
Mexico made of 85% of the world's total silver production. Silver was extremely valuable in
China, and became a global commodity.
Manila galleons carried
Spanish dollars across the Pacific, contributing to the rise of the
Spanish Empire. The rise and fall of its value affected the world market. from the silver of Potosí, Bolivia. The amount of silver mined at Potosí and other locations in the
Spanish Empire led to significant inflation in Europe.In the first half of the 19th century
Chilean mining revived due to a
silver rush in the Norte Chico region, leading to an increased presence of Chileans in the Atacama desert and a shift away from an
agriculture based economy. The country of
Argentina was named after its silver resources by Spanish conquistadors; Argentina is a Spanish adjective meaning "silvery". Silver mining was a driving force in the settlement of western
North America, with major booms for silver and associated minerals (lead, mostly) in the
galena ore silver is most commonly found in. Notable
silver rushes were in
Colorado;
Nevada;
Cobalt, Ontario;
California and the
Kootenay region of
British Columbia; notably in the
Boundary and "Silvery"
Slocan. A silver rush in
Idaho produced mines in an area known as
Silver Valley, a handful of which are still active today. The first major silver ore deposits in the United States were discovered at the
Comstock Lode in Virginia City,
Nevada, in 1859. By the 1870's, silver production had increased from 40 millions ounces per year to 80 million. From 1872 to 1920, a surge of technological innovation increased global silver production to 120 million ounces produced per year. New silver deposits had been discovered in Australia, Canada, United States, Africa, Mexico, Chile, and Japan, and by the end of 1920, global production surged to 190 million ounces annually. The mining techniques during the 1900's had also dramatically changed. Seam-assisted drilling,
mine dewatering, and improved
haulage all contributed to the spike in silver production in the 1900's. By 2019, technological innovation has allowed silver production to grow to almost 800 million ounces per year. == Environmental effects of silver mining ==