“You got the silver, you got the gold…..”
These lyrics from world renowned band The Rolling Stones feels fitting, as both metals are shining in what is shaping up to be one of the most bullish periods in recent years.
Gold has been dominating headlines, shattering several records throughout Q3 2025, but silver has been quietly stealing the spotlight on its own.
Manuka Resources (ASX:MKR) Executive Chairman Dennis Karp describes the quarter as “closing in a flurry of activity”.
“While there have been a number of bullish projections for silver over the past six months, the end of September price movements suggest that a lot of investors are now in agreement with those calls for far higher prices,” Karp tells Mining.com.au.
While gold has historically often served as a monetary standard, with its convertibility and stability long making it a pillar of global economies, silver is also used as currency but its industrial and medical applications create constant demand that distinguishes it from its yellow metal cousin, as Mining.com.au previously reported.
No longer just gold’s understudy, silver’s role as a precious and industrial commodity has set the stage for one of its stronger performances in over a decade.
And the market is noticing, as Silver North Resources (TSX-V:SNAG) CEO Jason Weber says, “the main theme is continued strength in the silver price”.
On 1 July 2025, silver was selling for US$36 ($54.82) per ounce. During Q3 2025, the commodity reached near historical levels when it hit US$44 per ounce – not far off the US$49.51 mark it rose to in April 2011.
As Mining.com.au reported, this price jump has been boosted by expectations of further US Federal Reserve rate cuts, creating a bullish environment for silver.
Since then, the precious metal’s price has increased about 30% to US$47 per ounce as of 30 September.
Speaking to this news service, Silver47 Exploration (TSX-V:AGA) Executive Chairman Gary Thompson describes the third-quarter sentiment as “very positive”.
“In fact the best ever and we may be witnessing the greatest move in history, time will tell…”
Paint It, Silver
Silver’s strength isn’t just about investor momentum. In July, the US Department of Interior formally added silver to its 2025 draft list of critical minerals.
This designation underscores silver’s identity as more than a currency or piece of jewellery. Its industrial importance, from renewable energy to advanced medical technology, makes it indispensable to the global economy.
For example, Scottsdale Bullion & Coin says solar panels could consume nearly all of the global supply by 2050. At the same time, healthcare demand is expediting as the silver nanoparticle market – through applications in wound care, diagnostics, and medical devices – is forecast to expand from $3.2 billion in 2024 to $10.4 billion by 2033, representing a 13.8% annual growth rate.
“Both industrial and investment demand are surging for the metal with no sign of stopping anytime soon,” Thompson says.
Industrial demand now accounts for 59% of total silver usage, led by technologies such as solar panels, electric vehicles, and consumer electronics.
According to the Silver Institute, demand fell 3.6% to 1.16 billion ounces in 2024, primarily due to weakness in physical investment and slightly lower silverware and photographic demand.
However, Sprott highlights that silver remains critical to the electrification of the global economy, with its crucial properties to the technology needed to meet rising global electricity demand, including solar power, electric vehicles, and electronics.
Silver North’s Weber says one of the key factors in the silver market today is the recognition that silver has a tremendous industrial demand that only those who follow silver understand.
“I think the silver producers have keyed on this and that story has been told to the point that investors now understand it much better,” he tells this news service.
“As investors realise the gains on their silver stocks they start to cycle out of the bigger companies into the smaller explorers. That cycle is important for both the investors and those smaller companies raising money.”
Can’t You Hear Explorers’ Knocking?
Silver47’s Thompson notes that the market is beginning to see investments flowing back down to the junior end of town.
“We are playing catch up to advance these resources toward the mine development stage,” he says.
“We have seen tremendous trading volume in our stock, close to 100 million shares traded since the 1 August Summa Silver merger closing, that’s amazing.”
Silver47 Exploration has uncovered several new mineralised zones at the Kennedy Project in Nevada, which resulted in the staking of additional claims.
“22km of surface veins were identified with notable results, 40 grams per tonne gold, 232g/t silver, and 10g/t gold and 724g/t silver from the Gold Note target and 2.9g/t gold, 759g/t silver from the Coyote target,” Thompson says.
“A new mineralised zone of semi-massive to massive sulphide was found through prospecting and mapping at the Red Mountain Project, not previously identified. We still have all of our 2025 drill results from the Red Mountain program to come to market.”
Meanwhile for Manuka Resources, Karp says there has been “significant” investor activity in the week ending 26 September 2025.
On 19 September, the multi-commodity developer’s shares were trading at around $0.034. Since then, Manuka’s shares have surged more than 90% to $0.066 as of 30 September.
“Manuka’s trading volumes have been the largest since the company completed its initial public offering in July 2020,” Karp says.
“We expect high trading volumes to continue.”
Recently, Manuka released a 10-year production plan across its silver and gold assets in the Cobar Basin of New South Wales. It includes a restart plan for the Wonawinta processing plant, which has an estimated capital expenditure of $18.9 million.
Gimme Silver
With companies entering the final quarter of the year, and 2026 just around the corner, silver-focused miners are implementing aggressive plans to continue their exploration and development plans amid rising silver prices.
Silver47 Exploration is planning to advance the Kennedy Project to a drill-ready stage as soon as possible.
“We will be drilling in Mogollon in New Mexico by November to expand on the high-grade silver-gold zones to increase the resource there over the winter,” Thompson tells this news service.
Upon completion, the company will move to Nevada for further drilling at the Tonopah region, then in May and June 2026, Silver47 will return to Red Mountain in Alaska.
Across the company’s assets, three drill rigs will be spinning during the Canadian summer to increase the resource size and confidence level as it moves towards a Preliminary Economic Assessment. In addition, Silver47 plans to drill for new discoveries within Red Mountain.
Weber tells Mining.com.au, Silver North will be continuing to drill well into Q4.
“We are drilling at our flagship project, Haldane, in the historical Keno Hill Silver District in Yukon. To date, no results have been received.”
As Q3 2025 closes, silver proves it is more than a sidekick to gold, with many industry executives suggesting the silver price will continue at its current pace.
Silver47’s Thompson explains that the silver price is much more volatile and as such, he anticipates the market will see the precious metal hit US$55 per ounce by the end of 2025.
“If you had asked this question a year ago I was thinking that it would take 10 years for silver to break the US$50 per ounce as it did in the 2000s,” he says.
“We could see US$100 per ounce in 2026.”
On the other hand, Silver North’s Weber says although there will be continued strength in the silver market, he believes there will be pullbacks.
“These could be sharp but I feel there is a bit of resilience to the market we haven’t seen in a long time that will continue the strength we have enjoyed the last few quarters.”
With industrial and investment demand aligning, critical mineral recognition boosting legitimacy, and prices closing in on historical highs, the soft white metal is taking its turn in the spotlight.
Although The Rolling Stones may have sung about silver and gold in the same breath, silver sung its own song during Q3.
A song that could become louder as we head into 2026.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: iStock, Silver47 Exploration, & Silver North Resources
