SILVER DEFICITS (millions) 1990 <30.8> 1991 <68.1> 1992 <75.7> 1993 <183.8> 1994 <200.6> 1995 <182.9> 1996 <207.6> 1997 <221.6> 1998 <205.0> 1999 <161.5> 2000 <154.9> 2001 <82.7> 2002 <81.3> 2003 <64.2>* Source: CPM Group, Silver Survey 2003 * = estimate	Silver on Sale by Doug Casey www.caseyresearch.com I have said it many times: mining is an innately risky business. Worse, it’s an impossible business if metals prices are too low. In the case of silver, during the long bear market from 1980 to 2003, when silver traded mostly in the $3.50-$5 per ounce range, there were no major, public, pure silver mining companies that generated free cash flow. None. The end result was that very few pure silver producers remained in business. With the exception of a smattering of mines in Mexico, Peru and very few other locations, it has simply been uneconomic to produce silver (other than as a by-product). That is not to say that there haven’t been profitable silver mines, but these are generally owned by very large mining companies such as BHP Billiton (BHP.Z, $17.20. SO 3.11 billion). These are not stocks you would buy strictly for the silver exposure, however, because silver is a minute portion of the overall value of the company. Which points to one of the fundamental caveats about silver: namely that around 80% of new production is a byproduct of gold, copper, lead and zinc. So silver is produced almost regardless of its price. That makes primary production of silver even more volatile and risky than mining in general. ... More
Silver An Economic Geologists Perspective by Nigel H Maund Investor Summary The fundamentals behind the world silver market are looking increasingly strong. Silver bullion stocks of central and investment banks are at an all time low, or, in many cases, totally depleted. The demand for silver, especially in the diverse high technology and medical market segments (40%) is steadily increasing, as is the investment market segment in silver coins and bullion. The analogue or standard photographic segment, a substantial industrial market for silver, diminished in the last calendar year by a matter of a few percent only, despite the much vaunted demise of the silver market posed by advent of digital photography. A substantial proportion; i.e., 70% of the "Old Silver Scrap" market, comprising some 22% of the total market supply, was provided through the recycling of photographic film and paper. Hence, demand for silver in the photographic market is 85%, met through recycling within this segment. Furthermore, the "take off" of the digital camera market is restricted, in large part, to the young and relatively affluent (professional and young) market segments in developed economies ...More