Why is it more expensive to mine gold than silver?

peilthetraveler

peilthetraveler

Gold exists at .004 parts per million. Silver at .07 parts per million. This is a 17.5 to 1 ratio.

It costs $400 to mine/process every oz of gold. For silver it costs about between $3-4.50 per oz.

Hmmm....$4.50 x 17.5 = $78.85
and $400/17.5 = $22.85


So why doesnt it cost $78.85 per oz to mine/process gold OR why doesnt it cost $22.85 to mine/process silver?

Is there really that much difference in smashing up rocks, dropping in some chemicals, and then processing it out into bars?

I can see there being some slight differences, but costing over $300 more per oz to process gold in the same ratio of silver being 17.5 to 1? Can anyone shed any light on this?
 
Quote from peilthetraveler:

Gold exists at .004 parts per million. Silver at .07 parts per million. This is a 17.5 to 1 ratio.

It costs $400 to mine/process every oz of gold. For silver it costs about between $3-4.50 per oz.

Hmmm....$4.50 x 17.5 = $78.85
and $400/17.5 = $22.85


So why doesnt it cost $78.85 per oz to mine/process gold OR why doesnt it cost $22.85 to mine/process silver?

Is there really that much difference in smashing up rocks, dropping in some chemicals, and then processing it out into bars?

I can see there being some slight differences, but costing over $300 more per oz to process gold in the same ratio of silver being 17.5 to 1? Can anyone shed any light on this?
More...

i live near an old gold mine that was closed a few years ago because it became unprofitable. they were tunneling 5000 feet down at the end. its expensive to dig that deep through solid rock.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestake_Mine_(South_Dakota)
 
Quote from peilthetraveler:

Gold exists at .004 parts per million. Silver at .07 parts per million. This is a 17.5 to 1 ratio.

It costs $400 to mine/process every oz of gold. For silver it costs about between $3-4.50 per oz.

Hmmm....$4.50 x 17.5 = $78.85
and $400/17.5 = $22.85


So why doesnt it cost $78.85 per oz to mine/process gold OR why doesnt it cost $22.85 to mine/process silver?

Is there really that much difference in smashing up rocks, dropping in some chemicals, and then processing it out into bars?

I can see there being some slight differences, but costing over $300 more per oz to process gold in the same ratio of silver being 17.5 to 1? Can anyone shed any light on this?
More...

I think the rock is harder. also they spend more time looking for gold.
 
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