Silver (XAG) on Solana

Sun Silver has entered a binding agreement to acquire the Bayan Springs North Project in Nevada from Bayan Mining and Minerals, adding 106 lode mining claims spanning approximately 8.86 km². The acquisition consolidates Sun Silver's land position into an uninterrupted 15 km mineralised corridor, of which only 2.5 km has been drill-tested to date — leaving the bulk of the prospective strike largely unexplored.

The move expands Sun Silver's existing Maverick deposit, which hosts a resource of 539 million ounces of silver equivalent. Recent drilling at Maverick has returned strong intercepts, including 70.1 metres at 160 g/t silver equivalent and a higher-grade interval of 22.4 metres at 460 g/t silver equivalent. The newly acquired ground also encompasses a Northern Target 4.5 km from the main deposit, where a 2 km geochemical anomaly with arsenic and antimony indicators points to potential Carlin-style mineralisation. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Blackrock Silver has engaged Washington D.C.-based Global Frontier Advisors — a firm led by retired military and diplomatic professionals — to identify non-dilutive government funding pathways for its Tonopah West silver-gold project in Nevada. The advisory firm will pursue potential support through the Defense Production Act, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Export-Import Bank, and the International Development Finance Corporation, alongside Nevada state incentives. The move follows silver's designation as a U.S. critical mineral in November 2025, a recognition that has opened access to federal programs aimed at shoring up domestic supply of strategically important metals.

The case for federal backing hinges on a supply gap that Tonopah West is positioned to help close. According to Global Frontier Advisors, the United States holds no silver in strategic reserve and currently imports the bulk of what it consumes. Tonopah West is projected to produce approximately 7.1 million silver-equivalent ounces per year over an 11.2-year mine life — output that could increase U.S. domestic silver production by roughly 10%. Underground development is targeted to begin in 2027, with test mining and bulk sampling planned for 2028.

Silver has outperformed gold across every major timeframe in the current cycle, with the Aberdeen Physical Silver Shares ETF (SIVR) posting a one-year return of 46.7% compared to 18.4% for the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD), according to a Yahoo Finance analysis. Silver has nearly tripled in price since 2025 while gold has more than doubled over two years, with dual demand from commodity speculators and growing industrial use — particularly in renewable energy — cited as the primary drivers. SIVR also carries a lower expense ratio than GLD (0.30% vs 0.40%), making it the cheaper vehicle for physical-metal exposure.

The tradeoff is substantially higher volatility: SIVR's five-year maximum drawdown reached -52.3% versus -26.4% for GLD, and its beta of 0.50 is roughly three times GLD's 0.17. Both ETFs receive "collectibles" tax treatment in the U.S., meaning gains are taxed at a higher rate than equities for most holders, though tax-advantaged accounts such as IRAs avoid that friction. The analysis concludes SIVR is the stronger pick for investors willing to accept wider swings in exchange for greater upside participation in the metals trade.

Silver was among the key contributors to trend-following fund returns in June, according to Societe Generale analysis of 78 systematic hedge funds. The cohort averaged a negative return of 0.1% for the month but remained up approximately 9% year-to-date, with silver, gold, and equities cited as adding to positive returns — reflecting profitable short positions as precious metals extended their second-quarter decline.

Societe Generale's report noted that interest rate trades represented the most crowded positioning among trend-following funds, while losses in crude oil, heating oil, and the Australian dollar partially offset gains. Silver's continued weakness through June allowed commodity trading advisers (CTAs) following the downtrend to extract meaningful returns even as overall fund performance turned slightly negative for the month.

First Majestic Silver has agreed to sell its San Martin Silver Mine to Flextronics Supply and Service for $90 million, with the deal also covering the Jalisco Group of Properties and associated subsidiary shares. The transaction is structured as a $2.5 million upfront payment followed by installments, with a final $35 million tranche due August 31, 2032. Closure is expected in Q4 2026, pending customary conditions and Mexican antitrust approval.

The San Martin mine has been on care and maintenance since July 2019 and was not contributing to First Majestic's current silver output. The divestiture converts a dormant asset into cash while reducing holding costs, allowing the company to focus on its active operations — the same portfolio that drove a reported 76% production increase earlier this year. The sale does not affect near-term silver supply but signals continued consolidation among mid-tier silver miners as they shed non-producing properties.

First Majestic Silver (TSX: AG), one of the world's largest primary silver producers, raised its 2026 production guidance following a quarter that saw silver output jump 76% year-over-year and revenue hit a record high, up 94%. The upward revision is a supply-side signal for the broader silver market: when a major primary producer lifts output expectations at scale, it reflects both operational momentum at existing mines and expectations for sustained high-grade production going forward.

Analysts peg First Majestic's fair value at around CA$38.50 against a recent close of CA$24.03, suggesting meaningful upside — but the stock's P/E of 28.8x sits roughly double the Canadian metals and mining industry average of 14.4x, prompting debate about how much of the production story is already priced in. The bullish case rests on expanded exploration and accelerated mine development; the caution case notes that elevated multiples leave little margin for operational setbacks, particularly at Mexican operations.

Silver climbed to near $63, gaining 0.23% on Monday as the US dollar index fell below 101 to a two-week low, driven by a sharply disappointing June jobs report that reset Federal Reserve rate expectations. June payrolls came in at 57,000 — roughly half the 113,000 forecast — pushing the implied probability of a July Fed rate hike down from 29.9% to 21.9% according to CME FedWatch data.

The weaker dollar reduced the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets, lifting silver alongside gold, which added 0.35% to approximately $4,170. Both metals extended Friday's post-jobs-data gains as investors scaled back bets on further monetary tightening and rotated into inflation-sensitive stores of value.

Rosland Capital LLC, a Los Angeles-based international gold and silver dealer founded in 2008, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 2, 2026, with plans to liquidate its operations. The company listed assets of $1–10 million against liabilities of $50–100 million, including roughly $23.6 million in unsecured debt and a $49 million deferred revenue balance representing unfulfilled customer orders. All employees had already been terminated by June 19, and the company holds no remaining precious metals inventory.

The filing points directly to surging commodity prices as the primary cause of collapse. Silver peaked at $121 per ounce while gold climbed from around $1,500 per ounce in 2023 to $5,620 per ounce by January 2026, meaning Rosland's replacement costs on existing orders far exceeded the prepayments it had collected. Revenue had already declined from $151.2 million in 2021 to $97.8 million in 2025, and high sales commissions of 15–35% of gross profit on unfulfilled orders accelerated the financial deterioration. The bankruptcy illustrates how extreme price moves in silver and gold can create structural insolvency for dealers operating on prepayment models with buy-back obligations.

The iShares MSCI Global Silver and Metals Miners ETF (SLVP) has outpaced the larger Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL) on both income and multi-year performance. SLVP posted a one-year return of 73.1% versus SIL's 60.9%, and a $1,000 investment in SLVP five years ago would have grown to $2,007 compared with $1,814 for SIL. SLVP also carries a higher dividend yield of 2.30% against SIL's 1.30%, and charges a lower expense ratio of 0.39% versus SIL's 0.65%.

Despite those advantages, SIL remains the dominant vehicle by assets, managing $4.2 billion across 40 positions—more than five times SLVP's $822.8 million. SIL's largest holding is Wheaton Precious Metals at nearly 22% of the portfolio, while SLVP tilts toward pure silver miners such as Hecla Mining and First Majestic Silver. Both funds suffered significant drawdowns over the five-year window, with SLVP's maximum drawdown of 48.5% slightly shallower than SIL's 50.2%.

Silver suffered a 22% quarterly loss in Q2 2026 — steeper than gold's roughly 14% decline over the same period — as rising interest rate expectations hammered the broader precious metals complex. Spot silver fell to around $57.79/oz on July 1, extending losses after the quarter closed at multi-month lows. Higher rates increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets like silver, and with markets pricing in a prolonged elevated-rate environment from the Federal Reserve — and potentially further hikes — investors rotated away from bullion across the board.

Silver's outsized loss relative to gold reflects its dual nature: it trades as both a monetary metal and an industrial commodity, making it more sensitive to risk-off sentiment and dollar strength. Platinum posted a comparable 21% quarterly drop, underscoring that the selloff was broad across precious metals rather than silver-specific. While Amundi Investment Institute noted that high public debt levels and central bank diversification away from dollar assets could support demand for precious metals in the second half, the near-term pressure from rate expectations continued to weigh on silver as Q3 opened.