CompanyGraph
Byproduct economics link supply of many precious metals to base metal mining cycles, decoupling production from precious metal-specific price signals and creating supply dynamics driven by unrelated demand.
Companies that extract and refine precious metals other than gold, including silver and platinum group metals, from geological deposits for industrial, catalytic, and store-of-value applications.
Precious metals mining outside of gold encompasses silver and the platinum group metals, whose value derives from a combination of industrial utility and scarcity. Unlike gold where investment demand dominates, these metals have significant industrial consumption driven by catalytic activity, electrical conductivity, corrosion resistance, and reflectivity. This dual nature as both industrial commodity and precious store of value creates demand dynamics where prices respond to manufacturing cycles and financial market conditions simultaneously.
The supply structure is shaped by a geological reality distinguishing these metals from most commodities: many precious metals occur primarily as byproducts of base metal mining. Silver is frequently produced alongside lead, zinc, and copper, while platinum group metals often share deposits with nickel and chromium. This byproduct relationship means supply is partially determined by demand for entirely different commodities, making supply-demand analysis inherently dependent on conditions in adjacent commodity markets. Geographic concentration of platinum group metal reserves, predominantly in southern Africa, creates a supply structure where political stability and infrastructure conditions in a small number of jurisdictions have outsized global influence.
As an upstream extractive industry, precious metals mining supplies refined metals to fabricators and industrial consumers across automotive catalysis, electronics, jewelry, and solar energy. The cost structure is dominated by energy, labor, and declining ore quality, with grade degradation a thermodynamic reality that means the most concentrated deposits are extracted first and each subsequent ton yields less metal at higher cost, setting a rising floor beneath long-term production costs.
Structural Role
Extracts and refines precious metals whose unique physical and chemical properties make them essential for industrial processes, catalytic applications, and monetary or store-of-value functions, supplying materials that serve both commodity and financial market demand simultaneously.
Scale Differentiation
Large precious metals miners operate diversified portfolios across multiple jurisdictions, reducing exposure to any single deposit's geological or political risk while supporting capital-intensive exploration programs and specialized processing facilities. Mid-size producers depend on fewer operating mines, making them sensitive to individual mine performance and local regulatory changes. Junior exploration companies operate at the earliest stage, spending capital to prove reserves with no revenue, relying on capital markets or acquisition to realize discovery value.
Connected Industries
Auto Manufacturers
Supplies inputs to
Platinum and palladium for catalytic converters
Electronic Components
Supplies inputs to
Luxury Goods
Supplies inputs to
Silver and platinum for jewelry
Medical Devices
Supplies inputs to
Platinum used in medical implants and instruments
Semiconductors
Supplies inputs to
Silver used in chip interconnects and conductive pastes
Solar
Supplies inputs to
Silver paste for photovoltaic cell contacts