Since late 2025, China has made three distinct moves in the silver market. It restricted silver exports. It set record import volumes. Now it’s halting exports of sulfuric acid — confirmed by Bloomberg and S&P Global, effective May. That third move doesn’t mention silver. It doesn’t need to. The ban targets copper mining operations worldwide. Because roughly 70% of all newly mined silver is a byproduct of copper, lead, and zinc mining, a squeeze on copper output is also a squeeze on silver supply. This isn’t a restriction on silver. It’s a restriction on the industrial chemistry that produces a large part of it. ... (full story)