Mexico’s mining always got the silver spoon treatment. Now it must reinvent itself to survive

The green energy transition sits in the hands of some of the world’s most conservative companies.

For over a decade, the price of silver did nothing of particular note. Then, towards the end of 2024, something changed. A gradual uptick turned to an exponential surge. In months, an ounce went from just over $20 dollars to an early 2026 peak of $120—more than double any past historical highs.

Geopolitics and climate crises converged to create enormous demand for this particular precious metal. On one side, as dollar dominance has seemed to waver, speculators have flooded to traditional value sinks, driving up the price of gold and silver.

Meanwhile, real-world applications for silver made demand skyrocket. Solar panels are coated in it; battery electric vehicles require twice as much as internal combustion cars…

And in the midst of this all is the country that produces the most silver on Earth, Mexico. It extracts about twice as much from the ground as its second closest competitor, China. High prices have helped drive the stock of Fresnillo—Mexico and the world’s largest silver mining company—by almost 350% in the past year and contributed to turning Grupo México—a conglomerate chiefly made up a mining concern—into the most valuable privately-held company in the country.

Mexico should be delighted, and yet the silver extraction industry and the mining sector generally is in crisis. Mining companies will insist that this is because of government overregulation. True. But look more broadly, and it would seem that Mexican mining is also the victim of years of conservatism and complacency in the face of a fast-changing industry.

This isn’t just the story of Mexico missing an opportunity to cash-in on a lucrative industry. What happens in Mexico will also deeply affect the shape taken by the global green energy transition.