Silver’s Critical Mineral Crown: Prices Primed to Skyrocket
The U.S. critical minerals list is developed and updated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) under the Department of the Interior, as mandated by the Energy Act of 2020. This legislation requires the list to be reviewed and potentially revised at least every three years to reflect evolving economic and national security needs. The most recent draft, released on August 26, 2025, proposed including silver for the first time, alongside additions like copper and potash, while recommending the removal of arsenic and tellurium. A 30-day public comment period ends on September 25, 2025, after which the list will be finalized, likely before year’s end. If silver is approved as a critical mineral, it could unlock federal incentives such as tax credits, streamlined permitting for domestic mining, and investments in supply chain resilience, potentially boosting U.S. production amid high import reliance (e.g., from Mexico).
Potential Price Surge Due to Speculation:
This designation could provide short-term upward pressure on silver prices by highlighting its strategic role in clean energy, electronics, defense, and medical applications, where demand is already surging (e.g., solar panels and AI components). For instance, silver prices jumped about 8.1% in the month leading up to and following the draft release, reaching around $41.59 per ounce as of September 1st, with analysts predicting further rises to over $50 per ounce amid potential tariff risks on imports and tightening global supply deficits. Over the longer term, while increased domestic incentives might eventually expand supply, persistent challenges like declining ore grades and unyielding production (much of silver is a byproduct of base metal mining) could lead to sustained higher prices, similar to the “violent repricing” seen with lithium and uranium after their critical mineral designations.
Speculators are already buying
Since the critical minerals draft was released on August 26th, silver has risen 8.1% as traders bid up prices in anticipation of the list’s finalization. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to see silver break out above the all-time highs by the end of the year. As of August 29th, year-to-date performance for silver is up 45.4%, surpassing the gains of the major market ETFs (IWM, DIA, QQQ and SPY) combined, while the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) has outperformed Nvidia (up 29.6% YTD) and Bitcoin (up 14.1% YTD) combined.
Silver Bull Market will be Impressive
It appears the financial media is muting the silver story, but once the masses begin to realize silver’s upside potential, the momentum will most certainly build. This is an exciting time to be involved in the precious metals market. Fasten your seatbelts. The best is yet to come.
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