That's faster growth than gold, the world's commodity darling right now, which has risen 58% in the year to date.

To be fair, gold has risen a lot more over the past three years.

Gold began an extraordinary run in early 2023, while silver didn't come out of the gates for another 12 months.

The silver price has risen from about US$22 per ounce in February 2024 to a record high of above US$54 per ounce last month.

Silver is used in defence and clean energy technologies, such as batteries and solar panels.

It's also used in many modern consumer electronics and medical equipment due to its anti-bacterial qualities.

Analysts at Trading Economics said:

Silver has been testing all-time highs since October, but uncertainty over US monetary policy and widespread profit-taking has weighed on prices.

Silver added to US critical minerals list this month

The US Geological Survey (USGS) added silver to the nation's critical minerals list this month.

This will likely provide more support for the silver price amid greater industrial use in the US and tight global supply and demand.

The Silver Institute says 2025 has been "a dramatic year for the silver market".

The Institute stated that the silver price reached a record amid an unprecedented liquidity squeeze, which led to record silver lease rates, record volumes of physical silver being stored in Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) vaults due to US tariff concerns, and silver's new designation as a critical mineral.

These developments coincide with elevated macroeconomic and geopolitical risks, including US trade policy, prompting investors to lift allocations to precious metals for portfolio diversification.

The Institute added:

Silver's exceptional price performance and its favorable supply-demand backdrop have further reinforced investor confidence.

Billionaire metals investor Eric Sprott told Kitco News in March that the silver price could go to US$250-US$500 per ounce over the next decade.

Expert says buy this ASX silver share

On The Bull this week, Mark Gardner from MPC Markets gave a buy rating to ASX silver share, Broken Hill Mines Ltd (ASX: BHM).

The ASX small-cap stock is 84 cents per share, up 7% on Tuesday and up 79% in the year to date.

Gardner said Broken Hill Mines is one of the few listed companies providing investors with growing exposure to silver production.

The company is moving into a major growth phase, backed by strong drilling results at the Pinnacles mine and a fresh $38.5 million capital raise at $1 a share to support development.

With higher silver prices, expanding resources and near term production upside, we believe the market is undervaluing BHM at recent levels.

More about Broken Hill Mines

Broken Hill Mines was previously known as Coolabah Metals.

The company has consolidated two of the three mining companies that control all silver, lead, and zinc operations in Broken Hill.

Broken Hill Mines owns two historical operations — the Rasp Mine (100%) and the Pinnacles Mine (70%), and is further developing both.

The company says Rasp, which is centrally located in Broken Hill, is the world's largest silver, lead, and zinc deposit.

Rasp has a Mineral Resource Estimate of 10.1Mt at 9.4% ZnEq (5.7% Zn, 3.2% Pb and 49g/t Ag).

The mine is currently operational and producing approximately 30,000 tonnes of silver-lead-zinc ore per month.

The on-site concentrator can process up to 750,000 dry metric tonnes of silver-lead-zinc ore per annum.

It produces a lead-silver concentrate and a zinc concentrate.

About 15km south-west of Broken Hill, Pinnacles is less developed than Rasp.

The company says the mine has one of the highest grade and shallowest deposits in Broken Hill.

Broken Hill Mines put Pinnacles into care and maintenance in 2020 due to the pandemic.

However, the company has continued drilling to expand the known resource base.

Pinnacles currently has a Mineral Resource Estimate of 6.0Mt at 10.9% ZnEq (4.7% Zn, 3.3% Pb & 132g/t Ag).

The exploration target is 6.0Mt to 15Mt @ 2-4% Zn, 3-6% Pb, and 40-125g/t Ag.

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