On Earth, silver can be found in a native form or combined with gold or other minerals. It has high electrical conductivity; however, its susceptibility to tarnish was an impediment to widespread use in electrical purposes. White and highly reflective when polished, silver has been used as currency and ornament for centuries. When alloyed with other metals such as copper, this precious metal is known as sterling silver and is harder than pure silver.
Silver was likely mined through ancient times, with evidence of mining in islands of the Aegean suggesting that separation from lead was occurring nearly six thousand years ago. Silver can be extracted from ore via smelting or chemical leeching. Large deposits of silver were discovered in the New World - and today, many of the top producing countries are part of the Americas.
The following chart illustrates production of silver from some of the top silver mining nations:
Like other metals, silver can be recovered from scrap, but mining remains the main source of supply for fabricating silver products as illustrated in the following chart:
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