The One Company That Mines More SilverNarrow moat

KGHM Polska Miedź (KGH) — moat facet

KGHM is the most price-insensitive silver supplier alive, because stopping the silver means stopping the copper.

KGHM is first in the world by silver mine and second by silver producer1. The company ahead of it is the reason the second ranking is not the first.

KGHM silver production (tonnes)1 40320231 31620241 3232025First among the world's silver mines, second among silver producers (World Silver Survey 2026)
KGHM cannot slow down when silver is cheap, because stopping the silver means stopping the copper.

The distinction is worth understanding rather than resenting. KGHM's Lower Silesian complex lifts more silver than any other single mining operation on earth — that is the first-place ranking, and it is a statement about the orebody. The producer ranking counts a company's whole portfolio, and a dedicated silver miner operating several deposits can total more than one very large by-product source.

What matters commercially is that the ranking changes nothing. Both companies receive the London bullion price on the day. Neither can withhold output to move it: KGHM's silver arrives as an unavoidable by-product of a copper mine that will run regardless of what silver does, which means KGHM is the most price-insensitive silver supplier in the market.

That is a genuine competitive asymmetry, and it runs against KGHM. A primary silver miner can slow down when prices are poor. KGHM cannot, because stopping the silver means stopping the copper.

The offset is that KGHM's silver costs it nothing incremental to produce, so it stays profitable at prices that would close a primary mine.

The measure is silver output in tonnes: 1 323,3 in 20252, flat for six years3. KGHM's position is held rather than growing, and the rankings will move when somebody else's deposit does, not when KGHM's does.

Moat trajectory: Holding steady

The ranking is unchanged and neither company can affect the price. KGHM's silver output has been flat for six years.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Silver output, and its direction
1 323 tonnes in 2025 against 1 403 in 2023

KGHM's silver arrives as an unavoidable by-product of a copper mine that runs regardless of the silver price, which makes it the most price-insensitive silver supplier in the market. A primary silver miner can slow down; KGHM cannot without stopping the copper.

Source: KGHM Group Management Board's report on activities in 2025 ↗
References
  1. ReportedKGHM is first in the world by silver mine and second by silver producer.
    KGHM Polska Miedz S.A. Group - Management Board's report on activities in 2025, the production and unit-cost record (electrolytic copper of 570,9 thousand tonnes against 588,7 in 2024, 592,4 in 2023 and 560,4 in 2020; metallic silver of 1 323 tonnes against 1 403 in 2023; C1 payable copper production cost of 3,16 USD/lb for the Polish assets against 1,03 for KGHM INTERNATIONAL and 0,86 for Sierra Gorda; group payable copper of 710,0 thousand tonnes against 753,7 in 2021; wire rod and wire production of 279,9 thousand tonnes; and world mined silver production of about 25,3 thousand tonnes) — FY2018-FY2025 · publ. 10 March 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedThe measure is silver output in tonnes: 1 323,3 in 2025, flat for six years.
    KGHM Polska Miedz S.A. Group - Management Board's report on activities in 2025, the production and unit-cost record (electrolytic copper of 570,9 thousand tonnes against 588,7 in 2024, 592,4 in 2023 and 560,4 in 2020; metallic silver of 1 323 tonnes against 1 403 in 2023; C1 payable copper production cost of 3,16 USD/lb for the Polish assets against 1,03 for KGHM INTERNATIONAL and 0,86 for Sierra Gorda; group payable copper of 710,0 thousand tonnes against 753,7 in 2021; wire rod and wire production of 279,9 thousand tonnes; and world mined silver production of about 25,3 thousand tonnes) — FY2018-FY2025 · publ. 10 March 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedThe measure is silver output in tonnes: 1 323,3 in 2025, flat for six years.
    KGHM Polska Miedz S.A. Group - Management Board's report on activities in 2025, the production and unit-cost record (electrolytic copper of 570,9 thousand tonnes against 588,7 in 2024, 592,4 in 2023 and 560,4 in 2020; metallic silver of 1 323 tonnes against 1 403 in 2023; C1 payable copper production cost of 3,16 USD/lb for the Polish assets against 1,03 for KGHM INTERNATIONAL and 0,86 for Sierra Gorda; group payable copper of 710,0 thousand tonnes against 753,7 in 2021; wire rod and wire production of 279,9 thousand tonnes; and world mined silver production of about 25,3 thousand tonnes) — FY2018-FY2025 · publ. 10 March 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 24, 2026