10% of US Silver Supply Vaporized!

[93_Confirmed]

4 million ounces of annual silver supply and 400,000 ounces of annual gold supply have just been landslided. Rio Tinto’s Kennecott mine in Utah- the US’ 2nd largest silver mine and world’s largest copper mine has just suffered a massive landslide which will likely shut down production at the mine for years as upwards of 1 billion tons of dirt and ore have collapsed into the basin. 10% of US annual silver production just vanished. Good thing there aren’t any physical supply issues in silver currently or anything…

http://silverdoctors.com/10-of-us-annua ... vaporized/

[scyther]

4 million ounces of annual silver supply and 400,000 ounces of annual gold supply have just been landslided. Rio Tinto’s Kennecott mine in Utah- the US’ 2nd largest silver mine and world’s largest copper mine has just suffered a massive landslide which will likely shut down production at the mine for years as upwards of 1 billion tons of dirt and ore have collapsed into the basin. 10% of US annual silver production just vanished. Good thing there aren’t any physical supply issues in silver currently or anything…

http://silverdoctors.com/10-of-us-annua ... vaporized/

I'm feeling better about buying yesterday now...

[Engineer]

I had some 90% listed here for 20.5x...and would like to thank all of you for not buying it.

Latest news:

http://www.heraldextra.com/news/state-and-regional/regulators-block-access-to-utah-mine-after-landslide/article_dfed4629-c725-55a6-934c-b168106b9e07.html

Don't forget that mine also produced a LOT of copper, molybdenum, and sulfuric acid in addition to Ag and Au. I'm half tempted to buy a truckload of the acid before prices shoot through the roof.

From Wikipedia:

“It is one of the top producing copper mines in the world with cumulative production at more than 19 million tons of copper.[2] In 2011, Kennecott produced approximately 237,000 tons of copper, along with 379,000 troy ounces of gold, 3.2 million troy ounces of silver, about 30 million pounds of molybdenum, and about 1 million tons of sulfuric acid, a by-product of the smelting process.”

[agmoose]

Very interesting, can't wait to see how the markets react......if they do.

[agmoose]

Another article......doesn't mention Silver production stats, but also seems to underplay any market effects.

http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/content/ ... &sn=Detail

[Engineer]

Very interesting, can't wait to see how the markets react......if they do.

I'm surprised at how little press it's gotten considering that's 15-18% of the US copper supply. Can you imagine how much of a frenzy they'd be in if that much of the corn crop failed, or that much oil got taken off-line?

It'll be interesting to see how CNBC covers (or doesn't cover) the story Monday morning.

[scyther]

Is this something they can fix soon, or will it be out for a few years?

[agmoose]

Very interesting, can't wait to see how the markets react......if they do.

I'm surprised at how little press it's gotten considering that's 15-18% of the US copper supply. Can you imagine how much of a frenzy they'd be in if that much of the corn crop failed, or that much oil got taken off-line?

It'll be interesting to see how CNBC covers (or doesn't cover) the story Monday morning.

Very true. I will be watching to see what the MSM says too.

The way they describe the size of the collapse, I don't know if they will ever dig that area back out. It is certainly down at least a year.

[agmoose]

There are some people who would love a 20% bump in copper prices around here I bet.

An area two thousand feet across and just as high. That is a lot of dirt.

[scyther]

There are some people who would love a 20% bump in copper prices around here I bet.

Ooh! Me!

Although really, it needs to be more like a 100% jump. Something to get people to start defying the melt ban, or at least hoarding more...

[SilverDragon72]

Wow! Those are some really cool pictures!

I wonder how the market will react to this? I'm sure it will take many months to dig out from under all of that.

So large that you can see it from space?? I guess I never realized how BIG some of these mines really are!

[slickeast]

Those pictures are incredible. That is a lot of dirt to move. Anyone with a dump truck within 100 miles of this mine should be able to get a job there easily.

[Robarons]

So this should effect silver supply right and therefore prices?

I see its 10% of US SUPPLY but what does that really mean on a global scale? I am sure the USA isnt a top producer of silver anyways because most silver is bought on the global market from places like Mexico or Russia?

For the example if I read 50% US PLATINUM SUPPLY WIPED OUT because of mine ladnslide I wouldnt care because US Platinum production is likely 2% of the worlds production (with most of it in Russia or South America) so 50% of 2% is only a 1% change on a global scale. Now if you said 50% of Russia's platinum supply got wiped WATCH OUT

[Thogey]

So this should effect silver supply right and therefore prices?

I see its 10% of US SUPPLY but what does that really mean on a global scale? I am sure the USA isnt a top producer of silver anyways because most silver is bought on the global market from places like Mexico or Russia?

For the example if I read 50% US PLATINUM SUPPLY WIPED OUT because of mine ladnslide I wouldnt care because US Platinum production is likely 2% of the worlds production (with most of it in Russia or South America) so 50% of 2% is only a 1% change on a global scale. Now if you said 50% of Russia's platinum supply got wiped WATCH OUT

I agree with what you wrote. But this article is poorly worded and the content has changed to 16% of the US silver "supply"

The article uses "supply" and "production" interchangeably. Which is it? It reads like it was written by a 10 year old.

[beauanderos]

So this should effect silver supply right and therefore prices?

I see its 10% of US SUPPLY but what does that really mean on a global scale? I am sure the USA isnt a top producer of silver anyways because most silver is bought on the global market from places like Mexico or Russia?

For the example if I read 50% US PLATINUM SUPPLY WIPED OUT because of mine ladnslide I wouldnt care because US Platinum production is likely 2% of the worlds production (with most of it in Russia or South America) so 50% of 2% is only a 1% change on a global scale. Now if you said 50% of Russia's platinum supply got wiped WATCH OUT

This is perceptual in effect, and should have little to no impact on the price. If (and I'm just tossing out a number here, because who trusts official figures) annual silver production is 900 million ounces, then you can see that 4 or 5 million ounces is but a fragment of that, and if cause and effect were actual, would alter the price but little. What it does affect will be this:
http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=RIO+Interactive#symbol=rio;range=5d;compare=;indicator=volume;charttype=area;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=off;source=undefined;
http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=RIO+Interactive#symbol=rio;range=3m;compare=;indicator=volume;charttype=area;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=off;source=undefined;

as I think Engineer (might have been someone else) pointed out in another thread... what will have a greater impact on supply is continued suppression of silver pricing, leading to shutting down of mines that are developing problems showing profitability when extraction costs are in excess of what they can sell for. This factor too, though, is mitigated by the fact that about 78% of silver production is as a by-product to copper, lead, zinc, etc mining. Now... if the BASE metal prices ever went into a prolonged slump that shuttered mines, that would be a different story. Reduction of silver production on a global basis under that scenario would produce a commensurate sphincter-tightening effect upon JPMorgan. Sorry, no pics provided for this one.

[pennypicker]

So this should effect silver supply right and therefore prices?

I see its 10% of US SUPPLY but what does that really mean on a global scale? I am sure the USA isnt a top producer of silver anyways because most silver is bought on the global market from places like Mexico or Russia?

For the example if I read 50% US PLATINUM SUPPLY WIPED OUT because of mine ladnslide I wouldnt care because US Platinum production is likely 2% of the worlds production (with most of it in Russia or South America) so 50% of 2% is only a 1% change on a global scale. Now if you said 50% of Russia's platinum supply got wiped WATCH OUT

* According to The Silver Institute the US is the 9th largest producer of silver in the world.
* In 2011 global mine production of silver was 697 million ounces.
* In 2011 US mine production was 36 million ounces which was 5.1 % of the world's total mine production.

** So a 10% sudden "evaporation" of US silver production equates to loss of 1/2 of 1% of the world's silver production.
** Perhaps its not that big of a deal afterall...relatively speaking.

[Robarons]

Thats the math I was looking for

Now it would be nice for said article and mine landslide to spook the markets to the upside, but dont hold your breath

[pennypicker]

Thats the math I was looking for

Now it would be nice for said article and mine landslide to spook the markets to the upside, but dont hold your breath

Truth in numbers....except if they are delivered by a politician or CEO.

[beauanderos]

Thats the math I was looking for

Now it would be nice for said article and mine landslide to spook the markets to the upside, but dont hold your breath

Somehow I suspect that it will produce the opposite effect, as those who understand human psychology expect this and will attempt to contain any rise.

[Robarons]

On a side note a strike at a Copper mine would jump Silver and Copper up respectively

When Chile has strikes at Copper mines we saw copper tick up on the news, Silver would have too but at a prolonged delayed rate because its a by-product that would take into effect as the mines closed up

Same with South Africa mines on strikes on Gold prices, but Gold is mined in other places as a sole metal in most cases

[pennypicker]

Top 2011 silver mine producing countries according to The Silver Institute: (millions of ounces)

1. Mexico 152.8
2. Peru 109.8
3. China 103.9
4. Australia 55.2
5. Chile 42.1
6. Poland 40.8
7. Russia 40.0
8. Bolivia 39.0
9. United States 36.0
10. Argentina 22.6
11. Canada 19.1
12. Kazakhstan 17.6
13. India 11.0
14. Turkey 9.4
15. Sweden 9.1
16. Guatemala 8.8
17. Morocco 7.3
18. Indonesia 6.0
19. Iran 3.5
20. Papua New Guinea 3.0

**Truth in numbers...except when associated with Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez etc.......

[beauanderos]

Top 2011 silver mine producing countries according to The Silver Institute: (millions of ounces)

1. Mexico 152.8
2. Peru 109.8
3. China 103.9
4. Australia 55.2
5. Chile 42.1
6. Poland 40.8
7. Russia 40.0
8. Bolivia 39.0
9. United States 36.0
10. Argentina 22.6
11. Canada 19.1
12. Kazakhstan 17.6
13. India 11.0
14. Turkey 9.4
15. Sweden 9.1
16. Guatemala 8.8
17. Morocco 7.3
18. Indonesia 6.0
19. Iran 3.5
20. Papua New Guinea 3.0

**Truth in numbers...except when associated with Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez etc.......

You're a real card, ya know that?

[68Camaro]

If there is a surplus of silver it will have little near-term effect. If however silver is in complete balance, it will have a greater affect than it's proportion.

[doug]

The mine was closed on the first of april so it looks like it was out of production already.

Doug

[68Camaro]

The mine was closed on the first of april so it looks like it was out of production already.

Doug

It was closed only because of the pending slide, which they were able to detect the early signs of...