MOSCOW, October 16. /TASS/. Russia’s silver reserves increased by more than 4,000 tonnes in 2025, according to a statement by the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
The ministry noted that over the past five years, Russia has mined 12,140 tonnes of silver, while the growth of reserves exceeded production, totaling 14,310 tonnes. As of the end of last year, the country’s silver resource base expanded by 3,170 tonnes.
In 2025, according to preliminary data, silver reserves grew by 4,140 tonnes. Among the year’s largest discoveries was the Unkur deposit in the Trans-Baikal Territory, which, in addition to its on-balance reserves of nearly 700 tonnes of silver and off-balance reserves of 295.7 tonnes, also contains 94,300 tonnes of copper. The ministry also noted significant reserve increases due to additional exploration of the Noyon-Tologoy deposit (+1,770 tonnes) and the reassessment of the Peschanka deposit (+1,290 tonnes).
According to the ministry, businesses plan to allocate 36.2 bln rubles ($454 mln) for silver exploration in 2025, compared with 29 bln rubles ($364 mln) a year earlier. In 2023, this figure amounted to 20.4 bln rubles ($256 mln). In addition, the state has allocated 2.3 bln rubles ($29 mln) from the federal budget over the past three years to support early-stage geological exploration projects aimed at replenishing Russia’s silver resource base, both through primary silver ores and complex ores containing silver.