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Silver
Top Exporters
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Silver Ore
- **South Africa**: $1.08 billion (21,598 kg)
- **Bolivia**: $869.88 million (13.17 million kg)
- **Peru**: $694.62 million (319.09 million kg)
- **Netherlands**: $143.59 million (24.88 million kg)
- **Mongolia**: $133.83 million (131.38 million kg)
- **European Union**
- **Russia**
- **Canada**
- **Honduras**
- **Morocco**
- **Finland**
- **United States**
- **Mexico**
- **Papua New Guinea**
Known Methods of Extraction
Perfect 👍 — next in **periodic table order** is **Silver (Ag, atomic number 47).** Silver is a **transition metal** that occurs both **native (elemental)** and in **ores** such as **argentite (Ag₂S)** and **chlorargyrite (AgCl)**. Industrial extraction involves **roasting, cyanidation, and electrolysis**. Here are the **20 most common methods of extracting Silver**: --- # **20 Most Common Methods of Extracting Silver** ### **A. Extraction from Silver Ores** 1. **Roasting of Silver Sulfide Ores (Ag₂S + O₂ → Ag + SO₂)** – Converts sulfides to metallic silver or oxides. 2. **Miller Process (Chlorination of Ag-containing Lead)** – Produces high-purity silver from lead-silver alloys. 3. **Cyanidation (Ag + NaCN + O₂ → Na\[Ag(CN)₂])** – Dissolves silver from ores for leaching. 4. **Precipitation with Zinc (Putz Process)** – Recovers silver from cyanide solution. 5. **Precipitation with Copper (Cementation)** – Silver displaces copper from solution. 6. **Flotation Concentration of Silver Sulfide Ores** – Separates silver-bearing minerals from gangue. --- ### **B. Hydrometallurgical Methods** 7. **Acid Leaching of Chloride Ores (AgCl + NaOH → Ag + NaCl + H₂O)** – Lab or small-scale method. 8. **Solvent Extraction of Silver from Cyanide Solutions** – Organic extractants for purification. 9. **Ion Exchange Purification** – Removes impurities from silver-bearing solutions. 10. **Electrolytic Refining of Silver (from impure silver)** – Produces high-purity Ag cathodes. 11. **Recovery from Complex Ores via Thiosulfate Leaching** – Alternative to cyanide for environmentally sensitive areas. 12. **Recovery via Thiourea Leaching** – Lab or experimental method for chloride-rich ores. --- ### **C. Recovery from Byproducts / Secondary Sources** 13. **Recovery from Lead or Copper Refinery Residues** – Silver as a byproduct. 14. **Recovery from Gold-Silver Alloys (Electrorefining or Acid Dissolution)** – Separates silver from gold. 15. **Recovery from Recycled Electronics (Silver in PCBs)** – Acid leaching + precipitation. 16. **Recovery from Photographic Materials** – Silver nitrate extraction from film or paper. --- ### **D. Laboratory / Experimental Methods** 17. **Reduction of Silver Nitrate (AgNO₃ → Ag + NO₂ + O₂)** – Lab preparation of metallic silver. 18. **Electroless Silver Plating from Silver Salts** – Produces metallic silver coating. 19. **Plasma Reduction of Silver Compounds** – High-purity experimental method. 20. **Solar-Thermal Reduction of Silver Salts** – Experimental renewable energy method. --- ✅ **Summary:** * **Main industrial sources:** Argentite (Ag₂S), chlorargyrite (AgCl), and native silver. * **Primary extraction steps:** Ore concentration → cyanidation or roasting → precipitation/electrolysis → metallic silver. * **Metallic silver:** Produced via precipitation, electrolysis, or roasting. * **Byproduct sources:** Lead/copper refining residues, gold-silver alloys, electronics, photographic materials. * **Laboratory/experimental:** Nitrate reduction, electroless plating, plasma, solar-thermal methods. --- Next in periodic order is \*\*Cadmium (Cd, atomic number 48). Do you want me to continue with **20 extraction methods for Cadmium**?