The United States Treasury Department has been much concerned over the declining output of gold. Priorities during the war were granted to the gold industry to place it in the position of a preferred war industry. Silver cannot be considered as being in a different position, although silver producers received priorities more as producers of base metals and gold than of silver alone.
The credit and finance of the world is greatly helped by maximum gold production, but of little less importance is a large supply of silver, for although gold has become the general standard of money, silver is still, as throughout man’s history, one of the two precious or money metals. It is at least a crutch to aid gold.
In many parts of the world silver ranks equal with or as more important than gold for a money standard. Elsewhere, in countries where paper currency is freely accepted by sellers, it is not an essential money metal, e.g., in the United States. However, silver with gold helps to support the credit and standing of paper money in Europe today, and in countries with less elaborate financial systems it directly replaces and so conserves gold.
Silver then is considered to be an essential metal of the world’s finance, trade, and industry. It belongs with the group of vital mineral raw materials and can not be classed with diamonds or other non-essential mineral products.
The unlimited mining and production of silver cannot be considered as an end in itself, as Spain found out in the days of the conquerors. But the present silver production is not in excess of the real needs. In fact there may be expected to be a great shortage of capital because of the great destructive effects of the world war. Silver production adds to the stock of money, increases confidence in financial conditions and furnishes, with and subsidiary to gold, a basis for credit. In the immediate future a maximum silver production may be of as great or greater importance to the world than ever before.
GEOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION
About one-half of the silver output of the world is obtained as a by-product in the winning of other metals, notably lead and copper. Such production comes from deposits of all geologic ages. The silver obtained from high-grade silver ores associated with minor amounts of gold or base metals is now derived chiefly from Tertiary deposits. Pre-Cambrian deposits are of some importance, e.g. Cobalt, Ontario; but the Tertiary is the great source of silver ores.
The Mexican mines, which are by far the most important as producers of silver ores, are associated with Tertiary volcanic rocks. A similar association occurs to the south, in Central America, Peru, and Bolivia. The deposits of the United States, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, and Montana, occur under similar conditions. This is also true of the chief worked-out deposits of recent silver-mining history—the Comstock Lode.
A great deal of silver has been mined in Europe in the past, chiefly from rich silver deposits which are now largely exhausted. Geologic conditions here are obscure, because the mining was completed so long ago.
In the future, Mexico and the Rocky Mountain-Andes Cordillera will be the chief region for the mining of rich silver ores. The pre-Cambrian areas of Canada may continue to be of some importance.