Australia's silver sector is back in the spotlight as soaring global demand and sharply rising silver prices rekindle investor interest in ASX-listed silver miners. Driven by strong industrial demand for electronics, clean-energy applications, and supply deficits, the price of silver surged in 2025 well beyond US $50/oz. This provided a powerful tailwind for exploration and production companies.
Diversifying your portfolio into precious metals can provide a number of financial benefits. While investors often view gold as the metal of choice, silver has many of the same value characteristics and can be a great option for those seeking a viable alternative to gold.
What are ASX silver shares?
ASX silver shares are companies or units of a fund that trade on the ASX and are reasonably highly exposed to the price of silver. They can be shares in companies involved in silver exploration and mining or units in an exchange-traded fund (ETF) like Global X Physical Silver (ASX: ETPMAG) that aims to track the price of silver.
Some ASX silver shares offer investors a pure play on the price of silver. This means their business operations are focused exclusively on some form of silver production. So their share prices are intrinsically linked to the price of silver. Buying shares in a pure-play silver company is often considered on par with investing in the underlying commodity itself.
The only pure-play silver company currently trading on the ASX is Silver Mines Limited (ASX: SVL). The company owns the Bowdens silver project in central New South Wales, which it claims is Australia's largest undeveloped silver project.
Because the future profitability of the project is so dependent on the price of silver, the Silver Mines share price tends to follow the silver price quite closely. This means it gives investors similar diversification benefits to owning the physical commodity itself.
The miner South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) is an example of an ASX company with exposure to silver without being a pure play on the commodity.
Originally spun out of mining giant BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) in 2015, South32 operates in many countries globally. Its mines and refineries produce a range of minerals and other products. One of its major projects is the Cannington silver mine in Queensland, which supplied the silver to make the medals presented at both the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
However, because South32 has a diversified portfolio of projects outside Cannington, it isn't as reliant on the price of silver to boost its revenues.
Decreases in the price of silver might still hurt South32's bottom line, but there are many other contributing factors – including changes in the prices of other mineral commodities – that could affect its business operations, and consequently its share price. This means that the South32 share price will have a lower correlation with the price of silver than that of a pure-play company like Silver Mines.
Why invest in silver stocks?
For some investors, 2025 may represent a compelling entry point into ASX silver shares: rising prices provide leverage, developers offer high upside if projects advance, and downside is somewhat cushioned by strong industrial and technological demand for silver. Often more volatile than gold, ASX silver stocks may appeal to those willing to ride the commodity cycle in exchange for potentially outsized returns.
Investing in silver stocks can help to diversify your portfolio, giving you exposure to different sectors of the economy. It is also an excellent way to add some commodities exposure to your portfolio without having to buy actual silver. This is a particularly good way to diversify your portfolio because many commodities perform very differently to the stock market.
Some commodities – especially precious metals like gold and silver – even tend to preserve their value in an economic downturn. This could mean that adding silver shares to your portfolio could help protect you from extreme losses in a bear market.
Top silver stocks on the ASX
As we've already mentioned, the only pure-play silver stock currently trading on the ASX is Silver Mines. However, many other companies in the ASX metals and mining category produce silver, in addition to other commodities.
ETFs like Global X Physical Silver are also silver shares, but sit within the financials sector of the market. Here are three examples of ASX silver shares ranked by market capitalisation from high to low.
| Company | Description |
| South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) | Operates one of the world's largest silver mines in Cannington, Queensland |
| Silver Mines Limited (ASX: SVL) | Owns the undeveloped Bowdens Silver Project in NSW |
| Global X Physical Silver (ASX: ETPMAG) | An exchange-traded fund backed by physical silver |
South32
South32 owns the Cannington mine, Australia's largest operational silver mine and one of the biggest globally, giving the company meaningful exposure to record silver prices in 2025. But silver is just one part of South32's diversified portfolio, which spans copper, aluminium, manganese, nickel, zinc, lead, alumina, and bauxite across operations in six countries. This commodity mix has benefited from strong price gains — including a 75% rise in silver, 27% in copper, and 13% in aluminium year-to-date — helping lift South32 shares 11.5% over the past six months.
Analysts highlight the miner's long-life, low-cost assets, improved balance sheet following its 2024 coal exit, and strategic repositioning toward metals aligned with electrification and the energy transition.
Experts from Catapult Wealth and Baker Young both rate South32 a buy, citing its reshaped portfolio and growth optionality from high-value projects such as Sierra Gorda in Chile and the Hermosa development in Arizona. These assets, coupled with rising commodity prices, position the company for stronger earnings despite recent share price underperformance versus the materials sector.
Silver Mines
Silver Mines Ltd is one of the ASX's purest silver exposures, centred on its Bowdens project in NSW — one of the largest undeveloped silver deposits in the world. The project is in the final stages of state approvals and is planned as a 16.5-year operation expected to produce around 66 million ounces of silver.1
Strong recent drilling results, including the largest mineralised intercept ever recorded at Bowdens, have driven renewed investor interest. The Silver Mines share price is up almost 10% to 17 cents and more than 90% year-to-date as enthusiasm builds around the project's scale and progress.
While still pre-production, SVL's single-asset focus and substantial resource base make it a high-leverage option for investors seeking direct exposure to silver's price outlook.
Global X Physical Silver
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offer a simple way to access silver without owning or storing the metal. Instead of buying shares in a company, investors buy units in a fund, and the fund manager invests according to its mandate. This makes ETFs a convenient tool for gaining commodity exposure on the ASX.
Global X Physical Silver provides direct exposure to silver prices and is backed by physical bullion held in London by JPMorgan. Its performance closely tracks the global silver price, though investors should be mindful of the 0.49% annual management fee which diminishes the potential return on investment (ROI).
A newer option, Global X Physical Silver Structured, similarly targets the price and yield performance of silver in Australian dollars.
The surge in silver prices from under US$30 to just over US$50 an ounce this year has driven strong ETF returns. Global X Physical Silver has climbed more than 63% in the past six months, and some analysts, including at Bank of America, now forecast silver could reach US$65 an ounce, implying further potential upside.
Benefits of investing in silver stocks
Investing in companies that produce precious metals like silver and gold can provide many benefits to your portfolio. Some of these are listed below:
- Diversification: The prices of precious metal commodities like silver are not highly correlated with the prices of most shares and other asset classes, meaning they can provide diversification benefits for your portfolio. This is because silver and gold prices often rally when share prices fall.
- Inflation hedge: Many investors see silver as a good store of value, making it an ideal 'safe haven' asset to hold during periods of economic uncertainty – like when inflation is high, and stock prices are falling (sound familiar?). As investors flock to these assets, prices are pushed up, which effectively provides a hedge against the negative impacts of inflation.
- Multiple uses: Silver has many industrial applications in addition to its status as a precious metal. It is used in many sought-after technologies, like touch screens, solar panels, and even water purification. High demand for silver from a number of different industry segments helps to stabilise its price.
And the cons…
There are also some drawbacks to investing in silver shares:
- Low returns: While they provide a dependable store of value over time, precious metals like gold and silver don't typically surge in price. This means silver stocks may not offer the same share price growth potential as companies in other sectors of the economy.
- Share prices may not fully reflect the price of silver: Depending on the type of investment, not all silver shares will give you full exposure to the price of silver. Companies have unique risks that will also play into the valuation that investors place on their shares. For example, one silver miner may have more debt than another, meaning their share prices perform differently, even if they are both considered pure-play silver companies.
Are ASX silver shares a good investment?
Investing in silver shares can provide excellent diversification benefits for your portfolio. The returns on silver have historically not been strongly correlated with the returns on the stock market, meaning that holding silver shares in your portfolio may help to protect you in an economic downturn.
The ASX offers many options for investing in silver shares, from diversified companies like South32 to pure plays like Silver Mines and Manuka Resources Ltd (ASX: MKR), to physically-backed commodity funds like Global X Physical Silver.
Before investing, always understand the risks involved, and consider whether the investment will fit your personal investing goals.
