1492 saw a new era in silver production, as the vast land area of the New World yielded silver stores and better technology increased silver production. Bolivia and Mexico were the first major New World silver producers, yielding 1 billion and 1.5 billion Troy ounces, respectively, through the middle of the seventeenth century. Peru’s silver output began at the beginning of the fifteenth century and provided consistent production of approximately 6 million Troy ounces over the next two centuries.
The mercury amalgamation silver extraction process was perfected during this time, greatly enhancing processing capacity from 1500 through 1875. The four centuries between 1500 and 1800 saw Mexico, Peru and Bolivia generating almost ninety percent of the world’s silver trade and production. Other silver producing countries during this time were Japan, Chile, Hungary, Russia, Germany and, to a lesser extent, other European countries.
The United States became a major silver producer in the 1850s, after the Comstock Lode was discovered in Nevada. During the 1870s, global silver production exploded. Production increased two-fold, from 40 million to 80 million Troy ounces per year by the mid-1870s.
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