Silver Production Rose MoM in December, Cumulative SMM 1# Silver (Ag99.99%) Production Up Over 5% YoY in 2025 [SMM Analysis]

In December 2025, domestic silver production increased by approximately 4.4% MoM. Full-year (January-December) SMM 1# silver production reached around 18,600 mt, up about 5.42% YoY.

On the production cut side, due to routine maintenance at a lead-zinc smelter in Jiangxi that remained unfinished until December, silver ingot output declined that month; meanwhile, a copper smelter in Hubei also reduced precious metal production due to maintenance. Additionally, scheduled maintenance at a smelter in Yunnan, originally planned to end in December, was postponed to resume production in January the following year, further affecting output.

As for production increases, after a new primary lead production line at a lead smelter in Henan stabilized operations, output of by-product precious metals saw a slight increase. Several smelters in Guangxi and Gansu achieved significant growth due to higher silver content in raw materials.

Looking ahead to January 2026, silver supply is expected to decrease slightly. Although smelters in Yunnan, Jiangxi, and other regions plan to resume production after completing maintenance, reduced raw material grade due to maintenance of silver-bearing crude lead in Hunan and production cuts at a smelter in Guangdong are expected to lower overall 1# silver output by about 1.2%.