Keith Neumeyer, the CEO of First Majestic Silver, is becoming somewhat of a legend in the silver industry. He’s one of the only mining CEOs who has been publicly speaking out about the manipulation in the precious metals markets, and in a recent interview he had some comments that should come as encouraging news to silver investors, as well as those thinking about entering the market.
It hasn’t been an easy few years for precious metals investors. The global central bank money printing has skyrocketed, yet investors continue to be frustrated by lower prices. But in his interview Keith explains how the production costs of mining silver provide somewhat of a natural floor in price.
According to Keith, the cost of maintaining existing silver projects comes out to about $13-15 per ounce. In other words, to keep getting silver out of the ground from projects that are already up and running, it costs $13-15 per ounce.
So with the price of silver currently around $16, the margins are already so small that should the banks attempt to manipulate the price lower, some mining projects will no longer be economically feasible and are at risk of being shut down. Of course if that happens, that means less supply, which only adds to the positive factors supporting an eventually higher silver price.
Keith also mentioned in his interview that the cost of exploring and developing new mines is closer to $20. Which means that right now, projects which would be worthwhile with higher silver prices are not being explored. Again translating into less supply than there otherwise would be.
So while the paper price of silver can do all sorts of unusual things in the short-term, it is encouraging to know that there is somewhat of a natural floor to the market. And since we’re already pretty close to that level, it sets up an excellent risk/reward profile with a lot of potential upside, and not all that much room to go lower.
Again, remember there’s a big difference between what can happen in the short term and what we might expect of the long term. But hopefully this comes as good news, and click here to hear Keith’s interview.