Does the military use a lot of silver by volume?

Defense volumes are small next to solar or electronics, but the applications are mission-critical and substitution-averse, which is why planners watch the supply chain rather than the tonnage.

Could the U.S. mine more silver domestically?

The U.S. has silver resources — historically in Alaska, Nevada and Idaho — but new mines take many years to permit and build, and most U.S. silver also comes as a byproduct.

Is this why individuals buy physical silver?

Some buyers see national-level demand as long-term support for the metal's usefulness. We would frame it more simply: own physical metal because you understand it, not because of any single headline.

Strategic Materials

Why is silver important to national security?

Modern defense runs on electronics, and high-reliability electronics run on the best conductor available. Silver sits inside communications systems, radar, satellites, guidance electronics and the power hardware of the grid itself. When a metal is that embedded and its supply chain is that concentrated, procurement becomes strategy.

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Defense uses

Electronics, radar, satellites

Grid exposure

Solar + transmission

Supply risk

Foreign, byproduct-based

Policy response

2025 critical listing

Where defense systems use silver

Avionics and missile guidance use silver-bearing solders and contacts rated for extreme reliability. Radar and electronic-warfare systems exploit silver's conductivity at high frequencies. Satellites use silver in solar arrays, batteries and thermal control. These are low-volume, zero-failure-tolerance applications — exactly where substitution is hardest.

The energy-grid dependency

National security increasingly means energy security. Solar generation, grid storage interconnection and EV charging infrastructure all consume silver. A supply disruption would not stop the country tomorrow, but it would slow every electrification program the government has committed to.

Why the supply chain is the vulnerability

The United States imports the majority of its silver, and global mine supply is dominated by Mexico, China and Peru, with much of it produced as a byproduct of other metals. Wartime or trade-war scenarios that pinch copper and zinc output pinch silver automatically. That coupling — silver's fate tied to other metals' economics — is what elevates it from a procurement line item to a planning concern. Sources for this page include the U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summaries, the Department of the Interior's 2025 final List of Critical Minerals, the Silver Institute's World Silver Survey, and the International Energy Agency's critical-minerals analysis.

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Common questions

Does the military use a lot of silver by volume?: Defense volumes are small next to solar or electronics, but the applications are mission-critical and substitution-averse, which is why planners watch the supply chain rather than the tonnage.
Could the U.S. mine more silver domestically?: The U.S. has silver resources — historically in Alaska, Nevada and Idaho — but new mines take many years to permit and build, and most U.S. silver also comes as a byproduct.; How the supply chain works
Is this why individuals buy physical silver?: Some buyers see national-level demand as long-term support for the metal's usefulness. We would frame it more simply: own physical metal because you understand it, not because of any single headline.; Ways to own physical silver

Strategic Materials

Is Silver a Strategic Metal?

Policy

Does the U.S. Government Stockpile Silver?

Supply

The Silver Supply Chain

Strategic Materials

Silver: Precious Metal to Strategic Material

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Licensed and insuredFiduciary advisory since 1970Independent IRA custodiansPrices quoted, never card-charged