Global silver mine production reached a fresh record high in 2008 totaled 680.9 Moz, driven by strong production increases in Bolivia, Russia, and Peru. Peru was the world’s biggest silver mining country in 2008, followed in the rankings by Mexico, China, Australia, and Chile.

Top 20 Silver Producing Countries in 2008 (millions of ounces)
1.	Peru	118.3
2.	Mexico	104.2
3.	China	82.8
4.	Australia	61.9
5.	Chile	44.9
6.	Poland	38.9
7.	Russia	36.1
8.	United States	36.0
9.	Bolivia	35.8
10.	Canada	21.5
11.	Kazakhstan	20.2
12.	Turkey	10.1
13.	Argentina	9.9
14.	Sweden	8.4
15.	Indonesia	8.0
16.	Morocco	7.8
17.	India	7.1
18.	Guatemala	3.2
19.	Iran	3.2
20.	South Africa	2.7

Top 20 Silver Producing Companies in 2008 (millions of ounces)
Company		Country	Output
1.	BHP Billiton	Australia	42.3
2.	KGHM Polska Miedz	Poland	38.4
3.	Fresnillo Plc¹	Mexico	34.8
4.	Cia. Minera Volcan²	Peru	23.0
5.	Pan American Silver¹	Canada	18.7
6.	Cia. de Minas Buenaventura²	Peru	17.5
7.	Polymetal¹	Russia	17.2
8.	Hochschild Mining	Peru	16.9
9.	Kazakhmys	Kazakhstan	15.6
10.	Southern Copper Corp.	USA	12.3
11.	Coeur d'Alene Mines¹	USA	12.0
12.	Teck Resources	Canada	11.6
13.	Industrias Peñoles³	Mexico	11.2
14.	OZ Minerals⁴	Australia	10.4
15.	Kinross Gold⁵	Canada	10.1
16.	Yamana Gold⁶	Canada	9.8
17.	Goldcorp	Canada	9.6
18.	Codelco⁷	Chile	9.3
19.	Xstrata Zinc⁸	Switzerland	9.0
20.	Hecla Mining¹	USA	8.7
¹ Primary silver producer.
² Includes attributable production from minority subsidiaries.
³ 2007 restated following Fresnillo Plc listing.
⁴ Pro-forma, subsequent to Oxiana-Zinifex merger.
⁵ Estimate.
⁶ Pro-forma sales, subsequent to Meridian acquistions.
⁷ Contained silver in anode slimes.
⁸ Reported sales.

World's Leading Primary Silver Mines in 2008 (millions of ounces)
Rank	Mine/Country	Operating Company	Prod.
1.	Cannington¹, Australia	BHP Billiton	34.56
2.	Fresnillo, Mexico	Fresnillo Plc	33.78
3.	Dukat, Russia	OJSC Polymetal	12.50
4.	Uchucchacua, Peru	Compañia de Minas Buenaventura SA	11.42
5.	Arcata, Peru	Hochschild Mining	9.03
6.	Greens Creek², U.S.	Hecla Mining Co	7.23
7.	Imiter, Morocco	Société Métallurgique d'Imiter	6.25
8.	Alamo Dorado, Mexico	Pan American Silver Corp	6.12
9.	San José, Argentina	Hochschild Mining / Minera Andes	4.38
10.	Pallancata, Peru	Hochschild Mining / International Minerals Corp	4.19
11.	La Colorada, Mexico	Pan American Silver Corp	3.91
12.	Huaron, Peru	Pan American Silver Corp	3.63
13.	Lunnoye, Russia	OJSC Polymetal	3.40
14.	Ying³, China	Silvercorp Metals Inc	3.41
15.	Tayahua⁴, Mexico	Grupo Carso	3.29
¹ Reported payable metal in concentrate; ² 2008 estimate; ³ Reported Sales; ⁴ Estimate

Material and statistics in this section were adapted in part from the Silver Institute's World Silver Survey 2009 publication.

From http://www.silverinstitute.org/production.php