In April, smelter maintenance and production resumptions occurred simultaneously, leading to a slight decline in silver production

Published: May 7, 2025 08:54

Source: SMM

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The latest data from SMM indicates that in April 2025, silver production declined slightly by 1% MoM and also decreased marginally by 0.94% YoY. As of now, the cumulative silver production in 2025 has reached 5,961 mt.

Structural characteristics of domestic silver production in April: This spring, some lead-zinc smelters conducted equipment maintenance as planned, directly resulting in reduced anode slime production and consequently a decrease in silver output. In particular, the maintenance work at two large smelters in south and south-west China significantly impacted the decline in silver production this month. Meanwhile, some smelters also adjusted their silver output slightly due to fluctuations in raw materials.

Regarding news of increased production, smelters in Yunnan and Gansu resumed production after completing maintenance, leading to a rebound in silver production. Additionally, a smelter in east China also achieved a slight increase in non-mine silver production.

Production outlook for May:

Looking ahead, although some copper smelters have mentioned that the reduction in TC for imported ore in May may have a certain impact on the recovery of precious and rare metals, it is expected that the production resumptions at smelters in north China and Yunnan will effectively offset this decline. Based on this, we anticipate that silver production will increase MoM in May.

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Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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