Elements

Silver

By 2010-07-01T00:00:00

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The noble metal that's now down at heel

Silver is unique among elements in giving its name to a country - Argentina, so named by the Spaniards because it was a rich source of the metal. The chemical symbol Ag, derives from the Latin word for silver, argentum, from the Indo-European root, arg,  meaning 'white' or 'shining'. 

World production of silver is around 17 000 tonnes per year of which only about a quarter comes from silver mines in Mexico and Bolivia, which are a source of the main silver ore, acanthite (Ag2S). Most silver is obtained as a byproduct in the refining of other metals such as copper. In addition around 10 000 tonnes of silver is reclaimed every year. 

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