What this place is
Cannington is a reminder that most silver is not mined for silver: it is a payable credit inside a lead-zinc concentrate.
What comes out
Silver
The best electrical conductor there is, and the metal that has been used as money for longer than almost anything…
Lead
A soft, dense, blue-grey metal that blocks radiation and stores charge cheaply — and that is also a well-documented…
Zinc
The metal that steel is dipped in so it does not rust — a sacrificial coating that corrodes instead of the iron…
A “by-product” is a metal recovered because it happens to be in the same rock, not because anyone went looking for it. Its supply therefore follows the primary metal’s economics, not its own.
Who owns it
| Company | Role | Interest |
|---|---|---|
| South32 | Miner | Owner-operator |
As publicly reported by the operators. Ownership of large mines changes; verify against current company filings before relying on it.