AXMIN Inc (TSXV: AXM)
AXMIN Inc. (TSXV:AXM) is a Canadian-based exploration and development company with a strong focus on central and West Africa.
This week, spot silver surpassed $34 per ounce, reaching its highest level since November 2012. Year-to-date, silver has gained 42%, significantly outpacing gold’s 32% increase. Analysts believe that silver supply will continue to lag behind rising demand, potentially pushing prices to $40 per ounce or higher by the end of the year.
Goldman Sachs considers going long on silver as one of the best trades in the current market, noting its significant catch-up potential compared to gold.
In addition to its financial attributes, silver differs significantly from gold due to its industrial uses. Over the past five years, industrial applications have accounted for more than 50% of annual global silver demand, with major industrial consumers including the United States, Canada, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Germany, and Russia.
In June 2023, David Stein, the President, CEO, and Director of Kuya Silver (CSE: KUYA, OTCQB: KUYAF, FSE: 6MR1), a Canadian-based mineral exploration and development company, participated in an interview with METALS 100. He provided updates on the company’s two promising projects: the Bethania Silver Project in Central Peru and the Silver Kings Project in Northern Ontario. Kuya Silver focuses on acquiring, exploring, and advancing precious metals assets in Peru and Canada.
Looking forward, a hidden demand source could drive silver prices to new all-time highs soon. While silver’s uses in consumer electronics and renewable energy have been extensively discussed, its applications in the secretive fields of military and aerospace technology are less mentioned. Recent analyses even suggest that military applications of silver could far exceed those of any other sector, including electronics, solar panels, and investment demands combined.
Silver is extensively used in military applications such as manufacturing rockets, missiles, bombs, ammunition, fighter jets, satellites, tanks, submarines, torpedoes, night vision goggles, communication devices, radar systems, space technology, and nuclear technology. However, military demand for silver is classified, and specific information is very limited. Since 1995-1996, five U.S. government agencies, including the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department of Interior, and the U.S. Geological Survey, have stopped reporting silver inventory.
Interestingly, silver was not included in the official critical materials list published by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Geological Survey in 2022. In contrast, several countries have started to classify silver as a strategically important metal. For example, Russia’s federal budget draft indicates an intent to expand its reserve assets to include silver and platinum group metals, potentially due to their military applications.
Meanwhile, China and India are making strategic moves concerning silver. Some suggest that the U.S. intentionally suppresses silver prices due to its military applications, while China and India, as the two largest populous nations, are strategically depleting the West’s silver reserves. China holds 71,000 tons of silver, driving prices up on the Shanghai Metal Exchange, and India continues to increase silver imports. With constrained supply and rising demand, the silver market could experience a squeeze, leading to a significant price surge.
