Silver on USGS critical mineral list: stockpiling by US Government in the works?
Yesterday, August 25, 2025, the US Department of the Interior (DOI), through the US Geological Survey or USGS, listed silver as a critical mineral.
Silver is now touted by the US government as a critical mineral, underpinned by the five consecutive years that the metal has experienced structural deficit since 2021. There has been a cumulative shortfall of 800 million ounces, being almost a year of global silver supply.
The classification should help simplify the bureaucracy with respect to exploration permits, actual mining, refining and dealing with mine waste.
Under the US Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office, mining companies can also enjoy a total of USD 1 billion in funding to lower the interest rates of loans for mining projects looking to retool energy infrastructure.
Perhaps the biggest signal being propagated from this announcement is that the US Government may soon build up its stockpile of critical minerals and metals, adding silver into its reserves. From the 1960s onward, silver stockpiles owned by the US Government were sold in the open market to be largely consumed by the electronics, solar, pharmaceutical and other industries. Because silver was so inexpensive and because only tiny amounts needed to be used in products, most of this silver ended up in the landfills and is uneconomical to recover, leaving only a small fraction of those, once mighty, silver reserves available.
Will other major economies follow suit and classify silver as a critical metal? This may trigger a build up in terms of accumulating silver as a strategic reserve. especially to support the ongoing upgrades relating to clean energy production. China, for example, installed 212 gigawatts of solar capacity in the first half of 2025 alone, much more than America’s entire installed capacity of 178 gigawatts. See Surging Solar Panel Installations are Draining Global Silver Reserves
We have seen how strong central banks gold buying has been an important factor in pushing the price of gold up from USD 1,500 to USD 3,380 per ounce since 2020 up to now.
This announcement for silver might also increase interest in silver by central banks. Mexico and Russia for example have expressed interest to launch silver backed currency or stockpiling the metal for strategic reasons. Thus, the establishment of official stockpile reserves managed by USGS is likely to positively influence the value of silver.
Silver supply is more stable in Asia now, even though there are still uncertainties amidst the tariff negotiations between the United States and other countries.
If you are interested in growing your own stockpile of silver, we have plenty of silver bullion to sell, already in Singapore.