The single largest source of primary silver is a young mine in the Mexican state of Zacatecas. Juanicipio put out 17.6 million ounces in 2025, more than any other mine that earns its keep from silver itself rather than pulling it out as a byproduct of lead, zinc and gold. Fresnillo operates it and owns 56%; the other 44% changed hands in September 2025, when Pan American Silver completed a US$2.1 billion takeover of MAG Silver.

Gold hit an all-time high of about US$5,595 an ounce in January 2026 before settling near US$4,000, still far above the levels of a few years ago. That combination, record prices followed by a stable, still-profitable pullback, has done something a straight rally rarely does: it has opened a merger window.

In March 2026, one of Ghana's own mining companies said it would invest about $1.2 billion in its operations at the Tarkwa and Damang gold mines. Both sit on the Ashanti belt, one of three narrow bands of ancient rock that carry almost all of Ghana's gold.

West Africa is in the middle of a gold run. In 2025 Ghana's output climbed more than 23 percent to a record 5.94 million ounces, holding its place as Africa's largest producer and now the sixth-largest in the world, and analysts expect the wider region to rebound about 8 percent in 2026.