by Adam Hamilton
Zeal LLC
The world’s elite silver miners just finished reporting their operating results from 2016’s first quarter, and they were impressive. This industry continued to drive its costs lower even as silver finally started mean reverting out of mid-December’s deep secular low. The silver miners are beautifully positioned to enjoy soaring operating profits as silver’s young new bull market continues gradually marching higher on balance.
Silver mining is a tough business geologically and economically. Primary silver deposits, those with enough silver to generate over half their revenues when mined, are quite rare. Most of the world’s silver ore formed alongside base metals or gold, and their value usually well outweighs silver’s. According to the just-released World Silver Survey 2016 by the venerable Silver Institute, silver largely remains a byproduct.