Prospecting for Silver

The price of Silver has fluctuated some over recent months but it remains at levels that make it an attractive mineral for prospecting attention. As of Nov 3 Silver made gains of 0.8 percent, to $34.48 per ounce.

Silver has always been seen as a favourite mineral in the prospecting community; while not as exciting as Gold or PGM's it still is an attention getter when discovered. The grade needs to be higher than more expensive precious metals like gold, but having lesser amounts as by-products in lead, zinc and copper deposits certainly adds value to the overall ore.

The three silver hotspots in the world are Mexico, Peru and China. These countries boost the best grades and annual production of silver in the world. In 2010 Mexico produced 129 million ounces, Peru put out 116 million ounces and it is estimated that China produced over 99 million ounces.

Numerous companies mine and explore for silver in many regions of the world, some focused entirely pure silver mines yet many others have silver as a valuable metal in poly-metallic mineral deposits.  In many cases the silver is not the primary metal being mined however its content serves well to create additional income and in increasing the overall value per tonne of ore mined.

While it would be great to be able to prospect for and find a viable silver mine, finding one may be a challenge in any location these days. What may be more valuable to the prospector is working on some base metal occurrences and reviewing them for their potential of also hosting silver as a by-product metal. This may add greater value to a marginal deposit of lead, zinc, copper etc. So it is something that you should assay for if it hasn't already been checked. Even in gold and other mineral deposits it is always a good idea to run a couple of assays for silver and for that matter numerous metals.

Most assay labs offer lower cost ICP type analysis that cover up to 30 or more elements, and you should always have a couple of those done on any mineral indications you find. It will provide a base level idea of the composition and allow you to focus future assay work and finances.

Happy Prospecting!

Top 20 Silver Producing Countries in 2010

(millions of ounces)

1.         Mexico              128.6

2.         Peru                   116.1

3.         China                   99.2

4.         Australia              59.9

5.         Chile                    41.0

6.         Bolivia                 41.0

7.         United States       38.6

8.         Poland                 37.7

9.         Russia                  36.8

10.        Argentina            20.6

11.        Canada               18.0

12.        Kazakhstan         17.6

13.        Turkey                12.3

14.        Morocco              9.7

15.        India                     9.7

16.        Sweden                9.2

17.        Indonesia              6.9

18.        Guatemala            6.3

19.        Iran                       3.4

20.        South Africa          2.8

Source: http://www.silverinstitute.org

Antimony supply at top of risk list

I just read in a news story at mining.com that the British Geological Survey (BGS) on Wednesday published the latest list of the 52 elements, minerals and metals most at risk of supply disruption because global production is concentrated in a few countries, many with unstable governments. Link to full story

It is surprising that the BGS places Antimony at the top of it's published (latest) list of the 52 elements, minerals and metals most at risk of supply disruption. Rare earths used in green technology and defence technologies do not top the list but comes in at number five.

Quote from story

The platinum group metals (auto catalysts) hold the second spot while niobium used in touch screens and scanners and tungsten for cutting tools are also at risk of supply disruption as a result of increased competition among the world’s growing economies, political instability, resource nationalism, along with events such as strikes and accidents. China is the number one producer of 50% of the 52 chemicals on the list and produces 75% of the world’s antimony.

In Newfoundland the Beaver Brook Antimony Mine was reactivated in 2008. In October of 2009, Hunan Nonferrous Metals Corporation (HNC), the largest antimony company in the world, acquired 100% equity of Beaver Brook Antimony Mine Inc. At the end of 2009, China Minmetals Corporation, China’s biggest metal trader, acquired 51% equity of Hunan Holdings Group (HNG), the state-owned parent of HNC.  Link to Beaver Creek Mine Profile

The reasoning behind the Chinese investment in the mine and the company holding it becomes clearer and looks like a strategic move, when we look at the BGS list.  

Looks like Antimony is could be another good mineral to prospect for.

Happy Prospecting!

 


 

Gold From Space

Found an interesting news story at BBC News Science and Environment written by Leila Battison Science reporter. The story talks about a study by the University of Bristol where scientists looked at the some of the oldest rocks on earth and demonstrated that that gold was delivered by meteorites long after their formation.

A quote from the story
 
Their results are published in Nature.
While the Earth was forming, iron sank to the centre of the planet, forming the core.
Any precious metals in the planetary mix would have gone with this iron and concentrated in the core, leaving the mantle devoid of elements such as gold, platinum, and osmium.

But this is not what we observe. In fact, the silicate mantle has up to 1,000 times more gold than anticipated.

Several reasons for this enrichment were proposed in the past, including delivery by meteorites, although until now it has not been possible to prove. 

By measuring isotopes in rocks that are nearly four billion years old from Greenland, the team has managed to date the gold delivery, and to relate it to an event known as the "terminal bombardment".

The story also goes on to say that the scientists have used a totally different mineral to preform their experiments and  reach their conclusions that mineral in Tungsten.


"The proportions of gold and other precious metals are difficult to measure because they concentrate into nuggets, and we need to analyse a lot of rocks to get meaningful data." said lead researcher Dr Matthias Willbold.

They have therefore developed a way of telling this remarkable story of gold's extraterrestrial origin using a completely different element - Tungsten.

More on this story


The study is very interesting I wonder if it would be worth while do a little prospecting at Tungsten occurrences and perhaps do a few assays for gold in those samples?

The whole story about gold and other minerals being "deposited" in younger rocks of the earth as the result of being  impacted with 20 billion billion tonnes of asteroid material, is certainly interesting and intriguing.

May dust off some data on local Tungsten deposits. After all, information is the prospectors best friend!

Happy Prospecting!

 Newfoundland Gold Specimen

Sample from a Tungsten and Molybdenum Showing