How much silver has ever been discovered in the world?

Experts estimate that the amount of silver discovered on Earth could fit into a cube with sides 55m long .

The largest silver nugget ever found weighed about 1,061kg, about the same as a full-grown bison. In addition to being found in many jewelry, coins, and cutlery, silver is also useful in medicine and electronics. In fact, more than half of the world's silver demand is thought to come from industrial applications . Most computers, phones, and cars contain silver. The material can also be used for silver inks, such as those found in Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips.

All the silver ever discovered in the world could fit in a cube measuring 55m on a side. (Photo: Evtushkova Olga)

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), more than 1.7 million tons of silver have been discovered throughout history . All of this silver would fit inside a cube measuring 55 meters on each side, IFL Science reported on April 14. This cube is larger than the gold mined, which measures only 23 x 23 meters.

However, silver is second only to gold in the precious metals world and is therefore much more likely to be lost or discarded than gold. It is estimated that nearly 50% of this silver has been lost or used in industry.

According to the Silver Institute of America, silver began to be mined around 3000 BC in Anatolia, in what is now Turkey. Mining expanded to Greece by 1200 BC, even providing silver for coins in Athens. By 100 AD, most of the silver mining was in Spain, where the metal became a commodity traded along with aromatic spices.

Silver was discovered much later in the Americas, after the explorer Christopher Columbus arrived there in 1492. By the 1870s, world silver production had increased from about 1,100 tons to 2,200 tons a year.

Today, the world's largest silver producer is Mexico, with silver production of around 5,600 tonnes in 2020. Nearly 25,000 tonnes of silver were produced globally that year, with Peru, China, Russia and Chile being other major contributors.

Today, there is still a significant amount of untapped silver. Peru is believed to have the world's largest silver reserves, at about 93,000 tonnes. Australia and Poland are close behind. Today, the world is estimated to have about 500,000 tonnes of undiscovered silver.