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The Modern
Era (1921 -
Present)
A variety of advances in the early part of the last
century allowed for increased production worldwide. This
was critical, as many of the high-grade ores throughout
the world had been largely depleted by the end of the
19th century. These advances included:
Bulk mining methods, both at the surface and
underground, capable of handling large amounts of lower
grade base-metal ores that contained byproduct silver.
Refinement of extraction techniques capable of
separating various base-metal concentrates from ores.
Improved techniques in ore separation, notably froth
flotation (post 1910) that allowed for concentration of
silver in lead, zinc, and copper concentrates.
Improvements in electrorefining techniques allowing for
the easy separation of silver and other base metals from
refinery slimes, thus providing an increasingly
important source of silver.
Thus, the explosion in the production of these various
base-metal sources throughout the 20th century led to an
increasing output of silver-bearing residue and
ultimately, refined silver.
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The above information has been sited from The Silver
Institute; please visit
www.silverinstitute.org to know more about
silver. The Silver Institute is a nonprofit
international association that draws its membership from
across the breadth of the silver industry. This includes
leading silver mining houses, refiners, bullion
suppliers, and manufacturers of silver products and
wholesalers of silver investment products. Established
in 1971, the Institute serves as the industry's voice in
increasing public understanding of the many uses and
values of silver. |
