Chinese Silver-I just found this:

dlimb2

Silver prices rose by 15 cents for the week, plumbing heights not seen since 1999. Even without the breathtaking news from Iraq, I would expect prices to decline, and perhaps sharply, due to the release of news in regards to Chinese exports of silver in the coming year, and newly divulged, and very bearish, information regarding their production. As per Reuters, the Chinese government is expected to issue export permits for silver on December 15th for 3,050 tons, up from 2,200 just last year. While the additional sales of yet another 27 million ounces of silver is certainly not welcome news for the bulls in this market, what is most distressing is that this trend looks to continue, and perhaps accelerate. Just two years ago, the Chinese produced 2000 tons per annum, and now smelters in that nation are pushing out 5,000 tons per annum as a byproduct of zinc, copper, and lead. With internal demand in China estimated at just 1000 tons per annum, this leaves enormous room for adding, and increasing, physical sales of silver.

dlimb2

This sucks.

bulloncoins

Just slighlty more than last year exports. The silver from China has kept prices down, and allowed people like me to buy more at an undervalued price. It has helped the shorts manipulate the market. Like "Ted Butler" has said, "People don't like silver because they get too much of it for their money" making too many people think of it as a bad investment. It has been sooooo slow to move. But it will, and when it does it will move with a vengance.

dlimb2

At that rate how long will it be, before they run out of silver to mine?

bulloncoins

I think the bigger question would be at what prices are they producing the silver? I have read reports where this is being done through slave and prison labor, at prices far below what it would cost in a free market capitalist country to produce. Remember who you are dealing with. this is not a "reformed" Russia.

dlimb2

Travis, I know but as long as they are putting it on the market ...it will continue to depress silver...someone should know approximatly how large and how long it will be before their mine plays out...and hope they do not have another one.

dlimb2

And with all the silver, it still does not explain the Jewelry that has been made of stainless steel and passed as sterling.

bulloncoins

http://www.cgs.gov.cn/Ev/gs/map/08.htm

This type of stuff is a little harder to answer. Look here at what we "believe" to be a mineral map of China. While you are there look around the web site at the different maps ie exploration etc. Map

Now how much can they produce from this? I can not answer. I can only tell you the effect on the price of silver from last years exports did not keep the price of silver from slowly increasing. The capture of Saddam has not kept the prices from a slowly increasing. And silver is very out of favor with most investors at this time. I think that is changing. A lot of people have a lot to loose if silver goes through the roof. If they have leased and sold short they are not going to like it. When silver is allowed to hit a greater fraction of its current "true"value more and more investors will jump on the band wagon.

Edited: well, after trying the link I see you can't navigate arround the web site. Sorry about that, but you can see the location of minerals. (silver is AG for anyone who is looking, gold is AU). Other maps show recent exploration, magnetic views etc. I would think they are mining more gold than silver, and the silver is actually a by product.

The point here is in the trends, and the effects their selling has had on the prices. They only started selling a year or two ago, the same time the US was running out of silver to sell. Prices creep up slowly but remember everyone is looking at gold and platinum. Big investors haven't liked silver for too long. When they finally do again, watch them chase after it...watch the prices rise.

dlimb2

Travis, I can not get it to work it links me to the site but there is nothing...I was just thinking about the manipulation of Silver...If manufactures of silver Jewelery can not get it and they were passing stainless steel off as silver...I am thinking this has been done for a reason...someone is controling this very tightly I do believe just because of this jewelry thing...They want to contain the silver supply in just certain areas...like coins and bullion....and starve the other areas that has had access to it for many years....after thinking I think there is a Group of People Again wanting the world to go back to the Gold Standard and therefore Silver would become again a valued metal...I can see this happening...They dont want what happend back in the 80's where everyone and their mother had silver, and they sold every piece they had and silver fell back down to nothing...this time when it happens it will rise to figures that have never been seen...Someone here was selling Silver to someone from China or somewhere last week and had doubts...Now why would that person be buying Silver Medals from Ebay if silver in China is so cheap....this is what is funny about the whole thing....they know something and grabing every bit they can...this is my belief anyway.

dcarr

I've heard reports of China selling silver, but I've not read any newspaper articles about it.

I've also heard that China is buying all sorts of commodities around the world like soybeans, cotton, and copper. It seems odd that they would be buying large quantities of copper while selling large quantities of silver. Maybe there is some hidden trade agreement where China sells silver to keep the price down and make the US dollar look better ?

Ive also heard that China is importing some silver-coated super-contucting electrical transmission wire from the US.

I don't know how much silver China actually mines. But over the years they accumulated quite a lot of silver. They've always had a fondness for it - selling silk and other products while accumulating silver. If you think about it, many of their biggest trading partners in the 1700s & 1800s issued silver coins to circulate in the orient. Of course, China never issued silver coins to circulate here. So maybe some of this silver that is coming out of China (if there is any) is from melted down US trade dollars, Spanish pillar dollars, etc. ?

Deadhorse

Welll, this is all very interesting, but I can't find any 100 oz. bars locally at any price.

I'd buy 5,000 ounces right now If I could find it for no more than 20 cents over spot.

I talked to a couple of local bullion dealer awhile back and they didn't think there wuoid be any problem filling my order.

Well, the fact is, it simply isnt't availailable. Thisn't looking good right now. Whatever the cause may be.

I'm, hoping with the money show here in January. that there will be more stock availalble.

We'll see. But the current status doesn't suprise me, sadly.