As artificial intelligence drives the scale and growing power consumption of data centers, the long-term demand outlook for industrial silver is on the rise.
But silver supply is falling short, and silver mining companies prepared to meet demand are strong candidates for growth-oriented investments.
Silver is the metal best suited to power an electrifying, digitizing world. As data centers and AI proliferate, silver is crucial to the mission-critical task of keeping servers and spaces cool and running seamlessly.
With its superior conductive qualities, silver is essential to industrial processes ranging from solar power to manufacturing of electric vehicles and everyday electronics.
AI and the Growth of Data Center Infrastructure
The world’s digital infrastructure is skyrocketing. Since 2000, total global information technology power capacity has increased by about 53 times, or 5,252 percent, from .93 gigawatts to nearly 50 gigawatts, according to the Silver Institute.
Looking ahead, nearly 100 GW of new data centers are projected to come online between 2026 and 2030, doubling global capacity at a 14 percent CAGR, according to JLL’s 2026 Global Data Center Outlook.
Hyperscalers — the cloud service providers operating massive data centers to support their workloads and data volume – are investing $7 trillion through 2030 to scale their data centers with the hardware, processors, memory, storage, and energy essential to operations, reports McKinsey.
Driven by increasingly powerful AI functions and applications, global electricity consumption from data centers is expected to double, from 448 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2025 to 980 TWh by 2030, according to Gartner.
Silver: Playing a Critical Role in AI Infrastructure
Information technology’s hunger for power correlates directly to increased demand for silver, which is essential to servers, circuit boards, connectors, switches, and power systems, reports the Silver Institute.
According to Oxford Economics’ “Silver: The New Metal,” silver is essential to data centers for its:
- Highest electrical conductivity. Conductivity minimizes power loss across connectors and circuits – a must for data-center servers consuming huge quantities of electricity and expected to perform at 99.999 percent critical uptime.
- Excellent thermal conductivity. Silver-based thermal materials stabilize temperature ranges for heat-sensitive servers while reducing energy demands for cooling.
- High corrosion resistance. Silver resists degradation from high electrical loads and fluctuating temperatures.
AI’s power to drive other technological advancements will continue boosting silver demand “far beyond” data centers, adds Oxford Economics. Autonomous vehicles, robotics, and edge computing devices need silver-rich fuses, switches, and sensors.
Industrial Demand for Silver Is Reaching Record Levels
Silver is irreplaceable in industry, which consumes 59 percent of global silver output. A world running on electronics and electrifying its energy production needs silver for its superior electrical conductivity, durability, and versatility.
In addition to the global IT infrastructure, the Silver Institute notes that major consumers of industrial silver include:
- Solar photovoltaics: Silver paste applied to the silicon wafers in solar panels efficiently collects and transports electrons. By 2024, the solar energy sector demanded 29 percent of global silver supply , up from 11 percent in 2024.
- Automotives and electric vehicles: Global automotive silver demand is expected to rise at 3.4 percent CAGR between 2025 and 2031. All automotives need silver to activate the connections within their sophisticated electronics systems. Electric vehicles – projected to account for 59 percent of global automotive sales by 2031 – consume twice the silver used in internal-combustion engine vehicles, requiring silver for battery management systems, power electronics, charging infrastructure, and electrical contacts.
- Advanced electronics: Demand for silver used in electronics is at record highs. Cell phones, monitors, televisions, children’s toys, keyboards need silver for their light-touch on/off switches, electrical pathways, and batteries.
Silver Supply Is Struggling to Keep Pace
In a world clamoring for silver, demand outpaces supply. Steady mine production of 844 million ounces in 2025 is still short by 150 million ounces in 2026, or about 15 percent of total need , according to the Silver Institute.
Currently, silver mining generates from 70 percent to 75 percent of supply, while silver recycled from such sources as industrial waste and jewelry provides the rest, according to the World Silver Survey 2025.
Silver produced as a byproduct of lead/zinc mining constitutes the largest share of global supply, at 29.4 percent , but production remains flat. Production from primary silver mines is a close second, at 27.8 percent, with worldwide production on the decline, even amid a sustained supply deficit.
Why Investors Are Looking at Silver
Investors turn to silver for its assurances of long-term growth and its responsiveness to economic cycles. Long-term demand is healthy due to silver’s indispensability to manufacturing and the digitization of the global economy.
Silver’s stability makes it a safe haven and a hedge for investors protecting their portfolio values amid uncertain macro economic environments and global strife.
According to the latest World Silver Survey, 2024 was “an exceptionally good year for silver,” with a 21 percent intra-year price increase, a 59 percent trough-to-peak rally, and robust fundamentals underscored by silver’s fourth consecutive structural deficit.
Why Some Investors Prefer Silver Mining Companies
Investors gain exposure to silver through equity options that diversify their portfolios, hedge against uncertainty, and yield promising returns. They can buy physical silver through their individual retirement accounts, buy into silver-based exchange-traded funds (ETF) and mutual funds, or invest directly in mining stocks.
Stock in mining companies gives investors a direct line to silver production. Silver mining companies create value through growth in exploration, development, and production. Silver mining companies can offer higher upside in strong silver markets, and may return capital back to investors through dividend and share buyback programs.
Silver mining companies offer advantageous operational leverage through their relatively fixed costs in relation to strong silver prices. The value of silver is on the rise, topping $100 per ounce in late 2025 and above $70 as of late March 2026, while production costs remain stable.
Why Silvercorp
As the silver deficit continues, mining companies poised to contribute significant quantities to supply are ripe for investment. Leading players include Silvercorp, a profitable, undervalued silver producer positioned for growth.
Silvercorp (TSX:SVM) (AMEX:SVM), a Canadian mining company, is an established silver producer with best-in-class operations, producing about 7.5 million ounces of silver equivalent, plus about 90 million pounds of lead and zinc per year at their mines in China.
Silvercorp offers a trailing 12-month all-in sustaining cost of less than $14 per ounce, net of by-products. Silver production from Silvercorp’s flagship Ying Mining District is increasing with mine optimization and development of the Kuanping satellite mine. Plus, a sizeable resource base supports extension of its Ying and Gaocheng (GC) reserve life of approximately 15 years.
Silvercorp presents compelling value for investors in peer-leading margins, return on equity, and leverage to silver. The industry-leading company trades at a discount to peers, selling below market value on multiple metrics that include a 0.6x P/NAV – the price-to-net asset value that compares market price to market value of underlying assets and reaches as high as +2x among peers.
Silvercorp is well covered by institutional brokers, with buy and outperform recommendations from most research analysts. Its highly liquid stock trades about $90 million daily across the US and Canada.
More information on Silvercorp, trading on the NYSE American and TSX as SVM, can be found at www.silvercorpmetals.com/welcome.