KGHM the world's largest producer of silver

In last year's edition of the Word Silver Survey, KGHM held third place, but has now become the largest producer of silver in the world. This also resulted in Poland's advancement to sixth place (in 2010 – 8th place), after Russia and Bolivia.

For many years, the top spots amongst silver producers has been dominated by three companies, one of which is KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. 
Only a few years ago, the undisputed leader was the Mexican company Industrial Penioles, but in 2009 it spun off the company Fresnillo, thereby dividing total silver production. Currently Fresnillo holds third place in the ranking. Unlike the other two producers, silver is its main product. In the case of KGHM, as well as BHP Billiton, which holds second place in the ranking, this precious metal is a by-product from the production of other metals, such as copper and zinc. 

KGHM produces high-quality, 99,99% pure silver in the form of bars and grains. Silver in the form of bars is registered under the KGHM HG brand, and holds a certificate of registration on COMEX as well as Good Delivery certificates issued by the London Bullion Market Association and the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre.

Silver is a metal wth industrial applications (such as in jewelry, the electrical and electronics industries, photography) as well as being treated as an object of investment. It is precisely this investment side of silver which has been the main cause for the spectacular increases in the price of this metal. Investors, fearing inflation and changes in the value of the USD, as well as frequent political conflicts, deposit their savings in precious metals. 

Silver was one of the best investments in recent years. Since 2005 its average annual price has increased by nearly 500 percent, from around 7.3 USD/oz to just over 35 USD/oz last year.


Communications Department