Silver is often compared to gold due to its importance in jewellery and as a safe-haven investment.
However, silver has many industrial applications too, including in electronics, automobiles and silverware, as well as medicine and photography. Energy transition applications are a growing demand sector for silver too — the metal is valued for its conductive capacity, which makes it particularly useful in the production of photovoltaic panels.
Silver supply has tightened in recent years as industrial demand rises. This was one of several factors that helped the silver price break through the US$34 per ounce mark in October of this year for the first time since 2012.
While the metal has since pulled back slightly, the silver price is still holding above US$30 and AU$46.
In this environment, it's a good time to learn about the largest primary silver companies on the ASX. These ASX silver stocks are sorted by market cap, and data was gathered using TradingView’s stock screener on February 12, 2025.
1. Adriatic Metals (ASX:ADT)
Company ProfileMarket cap: AU$1.41 billion
Share price: AU$4.26
Adriatic Metals is a precious and base metals miner in South-Central Europe that is now producing silver from the Rupice mine at its Vareš project, located near Vareš, a historic mining town in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In late February 2024, Adriatic produced its first silver-lead concentrate and zinc concentrate at the Vareš processing plant.
Adriatic’s mining efforts at Vareš are focused on the Rupice deposit, for which it released an ore reserve estimate in December 2023. The estimate indicates an 18 year mine life and probable reserves of 83 million ounces of silver, 640,000 ounces of gold, 723,000 tonnes of zinc, 457,000 tonnes of lead, 64,000 tonnes of copper and 24,000 tonnes of antimony.
In its Q4 2024 update released on January 29, Adriatic said that operations continued to run 24/7 but indicated the timeline for reaching commercial production had been pushed back to Q1 2025 due to severe winter weather in December and January. The company set 2025 guidance at 12 million to 13 million silver equivalent ounces.
Additionally, it said that Ausenco had completed a technical study for Vareš processing plant expansion options. The report confirmed that no capital expenditures would be needed to raise annual nameplate capacity to 1 million tonnes from 800,000 tonnes, but AU$25 million would be needed to expand output to 1.3 million tonnes per year.
Adriatic's silver production increased to 95,535 ounces in Q3, up from 21,591 ounces in Q2.
Buy now ,
2. Andean Silver (ASX:ASL)
Company ProfileMarket cap: AU$185.77 million
Share price: AU$1.07
Andean Silver is a precious metals exploration and development company focused on advancing the Cerro Bayo silver and gold project in Southern Chile. The company took ownership of Cerro Bayo in early 2024.
The land package consists of 70 exploration concessions covering a total of 285 square kilometres and hosts a past-producing mine that was in operation for more than 15 years. It produced 45 million ounces of silver and 650,000 ounces of gold before being placed on care and maintenance in 2022.
In its most recent resource estimate for the project, released in September 2024, the company reported an 80 percent upgrade to 91 million silver equivalent ounces at 342 grams per tonne (g/t) silver equivalent.
The resource includes indicated and inferred quantities of 39 million ounces of silver and 628,000 ounces of gold from 8.2 million tonnes of ore with average grades of 146 g/t silver and 2.4 g/t of gold.
The company said it was engaged in a 12 month exploration strategy and had deployed two drilling rigs to the site. It is focused on growing the Cerro Bayo resource and near-mine drilling targets, as well as making new discoveries.
In an announcement on October 31, Andean announced it had extended mineralization outside the known resource. Since that time it has continued to focus on expanding the discoveries at the Cristal and Pegaso 7 targets. In a December 17 update, the company released further drill results, with highlights of 67 g/t silver over 42.2 meters, including 600 g/t over 0.8 meters, at Cristal, and 179 g/t over 13.1 meters, including 1,579 g/t over 0.9 meters, at Pegaso 7.
Buy now ,
3. Silver Mines (ASX:SVL)
Company ProfileMarket cap: AU$147.72 million
Share price: AU$0.081
Silver Mines is an advanced-stage silver exploration and development company focused on its Bowdens silver project, which is located in Central New South Wales, 26 kilometres east of Mudgee; and its Tuena gold project 80 kilometres south of Orange, New South Wales.
Bowdens represents the largest-known undeveloped silver resource in Australia. The project comprises 2,115 square kilometres of titles, including 80 kilometres of strike. In its latest reserve estimate for Bowdens, released in December 2024, the company reported proven and probable mineral reserves of 71.7 million ounces of silver. The estimate also included measured, indicated and inferred resources of 180 million ounces of silver and 426,000 ounces of gold.
The project, originally approved in April 2023, was halted in August 2024 after an appeals court decision reversed earlier court proceedings regarding the potential impact of electrical transmission lines on the project. In a follow-up statement, Silver Mines said it would continue to work to obtain all relevant permits and development consents.
The most recent update from the project development came on December 5, when Silver Mines reported a change in legislation following the decision by the New South Wales Court of Appeal to set aside the development consent provided by the Independent Planning Commission. The amended legislation will help to reinstate the approach taken to planning assessment for projects like Bowdens. The company said the amendment will provide a clear pathway to work through the reinstatement of development consent.
In addition to its work at Bowdens, Silver Mines announced on January 24 that it would begin a 2,000 to 3,000 metre diamond drilling program of the Elsienora project, which is next to the Tuena gold project. The site hosts multiple silver and gold targets and has seen significant historic drilling dating back to the 1970s.
Buy now ,
4. Sun Silver (ASX:SS1)
Company ProfileMarket cap: AU$109.11 million
Share price: AU$0.72
Sun Silver is an exploration and development company that is working to advance its Maverick Springs silver-gold project in Nevada, US, which it acquired from Element79 Gold (CSE:ELEM,OTC Pink:ELMGF) in May of last year. The silver company completed its initial public offering and began trading on the ASX that month.
On August 28, Silver Sun announced it had increased the inferred resource for Maverick Springs by 45 percent. The new resource is 423 million silver equivalent ounces, composed of 253.3 million ounces of silver and 2 million ounces of gold from 195.74 million tonnes of ore with average grades of 40.25 g/t silver and 0.32 g/t gold.
The update was based on a review of historical drill data and re-modelling of the resource. It did not include data from the company's ongoing inaugural drill program, which encountered high-grade silver in the northwest section of Maverick Springs, an area outside of the existing resource where historic drilling identified grades up to 6,216 g/t silver.
On November 13, Sun Silver announced it had expanded its land holdings at Maverick Springs by acquiring 80 additional lode claims, increasing the property size by 34 percent to 26.28 square kilometres. The new claims are to the north and along strike of the established mineralised zone.
The most recent assays from Maverick Springs' inaugural drill program were released on January 14, and include a highlighted drill hole outside the resource boundary with 84.5 g/t silver over 102 metres, including an intersection of 454.6 g/t silver over 7.62 metres.
The company said the drill hole has mineralization three times the average width of the existing resource and approximately 65 percent higher grade, and highlights the potential for significant growth in the current mineral resource.
Buy now ,
5. Unico Silver (ASX:USL)
Company ProfileMarket cap: AU$96.35 million
Share price: AU$0.21
Unico Metals is focused on assets in Argentina. Its flagship project is Cerro Leon, which it expanded through multiple acquisitions in 2024. These expansions build upon Cerro Leon's greenfield Conserrat project, in which Unico has an 80 percent stake, and the more advanced Pingüino project.
A May 2023 resource estimate for Cerro Leon outlines indicated and inferred resources of 40.9 million ounces of silver, 344,200 ounces of gold, 332 million pounds of zinc and 129 million pounds of lead.
In July 2024, Unico completed a share purchase agreement to acquire a 100 percent interest in the Sierra Blanca silver-gold project from Austral Gold (ASX:AGD,OTCQB:AGLDF) and Capella Metals (TSXV:CMIL,OTCQB:CMILF). The acquisition will allow Unico to expand Cerro Leon and consolidate the Pingüino vein into a single entity.
Soon after that, in August 2024, Unico entered into an agreement with Pan American Silver (TSX:PAAS,NYSE:PAAS) to purchase a 100 percent interest in the Joaquin and Cerro Puntundo projects. The projects are located 60 kilometres away from the Cerro Leon project, enhancing the overall scale and economics of the regional portfolio.
Under the terms of the deal, which closed on October 20, Unico is to provide a US$2 million upfront payment, with an additional payment of US$2 million on the publication of a feasibility study and US$8 million on first production from the site.
On November 6, Unico closed on a funding package, raising AU$22.5 million through the sale of 83.33 million ordinary shares at AU$0.27 per share. The company said it will use the money to conduct a 50,000 metre exploration program at the Cerro Leon and Joaquin projects and update the mineral resource estimate in late 2025.
Results from that program began to be delivered in December 2024, with the most recent release coming on January 20. In the announcement, Unico reported results from 37 holes, including a highlighted intercept of 651 g/t silver equivalent over 10 metres, including an intersection of 1,936 g/t silver equivalent over 3 metres.
Buy now ,
Don't forget to follow us @INN_Australia for real-time news updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: Element79 Gold is a client of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
