“The cost to get it above ground is running $23/oz.”
Please allow me express a contrary opinion, take a deep breath, and you take it for what it’s worth.
The cost to get silver above ground is
ZERO
There is no such thing as a silver mine. All silver is mined as a byproduct of zinc and tin mining.
The cost to isolate, purify & assay & ingotize or coin silver forms is no more than mid single digits.
I can entertain a discussion with one who thinks silver is a $10-12 item. But it ain’t $23, no way, no how, never was.
My family mined lead and silver in Wales before my great grandfather emigrated to the US in 1863. The young Welsh boys worked the mines from age 5 to 11. When that typical teen growth spurt arrived, they were too big to work. Herding sheep and making shoes for the miners was the principal family business. The mine at Ysbty Ystwyth is closed now.