'Pawn Stars' Rick Harrison sounds alarm on silver shortage as demand surges
Rick Harrison warned that silver faces a structural supply deficit as rising industrial demand from tech and energy is outpacing limited mining supply.
Rick Harrison is sounding the alarm on a growing silver shortage as demand rises rapidly from the tech boom and energy transition.
The 60-year-old reality star is the co-founder of the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas, which is featured on the hit History series "Pawn Stars." During an interview with Fox News Digital, Harrison shared that silver is currently selling at his shop as fast as he can source it and expressed concerns about a broader supply shortfall
"The thing is with silver, there's a structural deficit," he explained. "Most people don't know this, but silver is the best conductor of electricity on the planet, in the universe, as far as we know."
Rick Harrison is sounding the alarm on a growing silver shortage. (Gerardo Vieyra/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
"And all these data centers, electric cars, solar panels — I mean, there's just so many things where they need silver because it conducts electricity so well, and there's not enough," Harrison continued. "For the past five years, there's a 200 million ounces a year deficit. We're just not making enough of it."
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Harrison also pointed to the scarcity of silver mines, which often take years to build. He also noted that most silver isn’t mined directly, saying that it’s a byproduct of mining for other metals.
WATCH: ‘PAWN STARS’ RICK HARRISON SOUNDS ALARM ON SILVER SHORTAGE AS DEMAND SURGES
"There's no big silver mines out there," he said. "And there's a few small ones. Almost all of our silver is gotten from gold mines and copper mines as a residual metal. And it's just a structural deficit. I mean, like these data centers, they're to the point where they're making their computer cables out of silver. They get just a little bit more speed because it can run more voltage, and it just conducts the electricity a little better."
He said that his pawn shop can't keep silver bullion in stock. (History/ Copyright 2013)
Harrison explained his views on the current high demand for silver have been informed by what he has witnessed at his shop.
The TV personality told Fox News Digital that though his shop offers a wide variety of products from cheap collectibles to high-end luxury items, silver bullion is the one product that sells instantly.
"We can't keep it," he said. "Silver bullion, especially, we cannot keep in the showcase. Literally, if I buy some across the counter, or I get a shipment in, I got sales people arguing who gets it, because all they have to do is pick up the phone to sell it."
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"I really think silver's got a long way to go, because there's just not enough out there," Harrison added. "And we're just seeing the beginning of all these data centers and chip centers and everything else like that."
WATCH: ‘PAWN STARS’ RICK HARRISON SAYS HE CAN'T KEEP SILVER IN STOCK AT LAS VEGAS SHOP AS DEMAND SOARS AMID SHORTAGE
Harrison also addressed the recent pullback in gold and silver prices that occurred recently after a period of unprecedented gains. On Jan. 30, the market experienced a sharp sell-off, with gold and silver prices dropping significantly. Silver plunged more than 27% and gold fell over 9.8%, marking one of the largest daily declines in decades.
However, Harrison said that he believes silver and gold are still "both really good buys at the moment," explaining that the sell-off happened after exchanges "started charging more for trading," which "made a bunch of people pull out of the market."
"But there had to have been a correction eventually," he said. "Nothing goes up every day forever. People are gonna say, like, 'Hey, you know what? I'm gonna cash out and get some money, just like Bitcoin or anything else."
Harrison weighed in on the recent steep drop of silver and gold prices. (Oscar Del Pozo/AFP/Getty Images)
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In addition to silver, Harrison explained that he also remains bullish on gold, saying it's appeal lies in its role as a reliable store of value, with strong demand from central banks and investors seeking protection from currency and geopolitical risk.
"It's sort of like a psychological thing and China is bound and determined to take over the dollar as the world currency," he said. "So they've been buying gold like crazy. Central banks all around the world have."
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"So you have central banks buying it up, you have retail investors buying it left and right," he continued.
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The "Pawn Stars" boss said he hasn't seen any drop in the demand for silver and gold at his store. (History Channel)
Harrison said that he hadn't noticed any decrease in the demand for gold and silver at his store despite the sell-off that occurred last weekend.
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"And I know a lot of other people in this business," he said. "The price went down, but they've got the same amount of orders."
"I think silver is going to have a long run and gold, it'll be up there," he continued. "I mean. You know, gold and silver, it's been basically the currency of the world for 6,000 years, and it's not going away. I don't think it's going to be replaced by Bitcoin."
Harrison predicted that the silver shortage will ease if demand remains high. (Michael Buckner)
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Harrison also predicted that the silver shortage is likely to ease over time as market forces will eventually increase supply if prices remain high.
"Economic Darwinism will happen, good old Adam Smith economics, and with the price of silver way up, there will be more dedicated silver mines and other things like that if the price stays up," he said. "So the market will stabilize. The unseen hand will do what it has to do."
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