As China began export controls on silver this year, silver is rising in status from an industrial metal to a "strategic material." This has raised expectations for improved performance at Korea Zinc and LS MNM, domestic smelters that produce large amounts of silver as a byproduct of nonferrous metal refining.
According to the smelting industry on the 14th, Korea Zinc's silver sales volume totaled 1,535 tons as of the end of September last year, up 1.7% from a year earlier. Annual sales were 2,100 tons in 2022, 1,900 tons in 2023, and 2,000 tons in 2024. Based on 2024, it accounted for 5.6% of global silver production (36,000 tons), ranking No. 1 in the world. Korea Zinc's Onsan smelter is considered the world's largest silver production site among single smelters.
Based on 2024, Korea Zinc's silver revenue was 2.3836 trillion won, accounting for 29.5% of total revenue (8.0890 trillion won, separate basis). Considering that revenue from zinc, the main product, was 2.5605 trillion won, with a revenue share of 31.7%, silver had the second-highest revenue share among Korea Zinc's products.
With silver prices surging last year, Korea Zinc's silver revenue is estimated to have jumped. Silver prices alone rose more than 150% last year. Korea Zinc's silver revenue in the third quarter of last year was 827.0 billion won, up 26.3% from 655.0 billion won a year earlier.
According to the London Metal Exchange (LME), on the 29th of last month, the spot price of silver topped $80 per ounce intraday for the first time ever. As of 9 a.m. on the 14th (Korea time), the price is around $88 per ounce.
LS MnM also produced 400 tons of silver last year. The company operates the country's largest copper smelting business, extracting silver in the process of producing 680 kilotons of electrolytic copper annually. An LS MnM official said, "We have facilities capable of obtaining about 1,200 tons a year of precious metals such as gold and silver, but we reduced output last year to balance supply and demand."
In financial markets, some expect silver prices to top $100 per ounce this year. The reason is that demand is likely to keep rising this year because silver is used in electric vehicles and solar cells and panels. A Tesla electric vehicle uses 25–50 grams of silver, and a single high-spec solar panel contains about 20 grams.
A Korea Zinc official said, "Industrial demand has increased for power cables, electric-vehicle batteries, and renewable energy, and a preference for safe assets has also appeared, keeping silver prices strong." In its business report, Korea Zinc lists specific uses of silver as "electroplating, electrical contacts." LS MNM also describes its uses as "electrode material for solar cells, electrical and electronic electrode materials."
With China recently moving to control silver exports, expectations for a rise in silver prices have grown further. China's Ministry of Commerce released the "2026 list of goods subject to export license management" on Dec. 31 last year, including silver. This effectively amounts to silver export controls, as it allows exports only by 44 designated corporations for two years starting this year.
China said it is controlling silver exports for "resource and environmental protection," but in the global market the move is being interpreted as a restriction on rare earth exports and a weaponization of resources. China's silver reserves are among the largest in the world. From January to November last year, China's silver exports reached 4,600 tons.
Elon Musk, Tesla's chief executive officer, referenced China's move and posted on his X account, "This is not good. Silver is needed for many industrial processes." The United States also added silver to its list of critical minerals essential to the economy and national security in November last year.
Investment bank Goldman Sachs said in a report on the 8th, "As silver circulation has decreased, price sensitivity has risen 3–4 times above normal," adding, "Extreme price volatility will persist throughout the year."
FXStreet, a foreign exchange and finance outlet, also said, "China, which accounts for about 60%–70% of global silver supply, is using silver as a strategic bargaining chip, as it did with rare earths in the past," and forecast that "an export license regime limited to 44 companies will cause a 'supply shock' in the global industrial silver market and push prices higher."