COMEX is over—not because the screens went dark, but because the miners’ own numbers are now openly advertising a two-tier silver market. When primary producers can consistently realize prices roughly a quarter above the “reference” futures price, that reference is no longer setting the price; it’s just printing a headline.
Hecla’s December quarter is the cleanest tell. The company reported an average realized silver price of $69.28/oz in Q4 2025. In the same quarter, the average silver price cited alongside results was about $54.83/oz—meaning Hecla realized about $14+ above the benchmark, a ~26% premium. Either Hecla executed superhuman timing—selling nearly everything at peaks—or something far more structural is happening: the physical buyer is paying up because the paper price is no longer trusted as a source of real, deliverable metal when it matters.
Then First Majestic comes in and confirms the pattern independently. In its Q4 2025 highlights, First Majestic reported an average realized silver price of $69.74/oz, and it explicitly framed this against the quarter’s average COMEX silver price (about mid-$50s), noting a premium of roughly $14.5/oz—again, ~26%.
Two different producers, two different sales books, same result: negotiated physical pricing is running well above the futures “price discovery” venue.
This is the real story: price discovery is migrating from a centralized paper market to bilateral agreements—industrial users and refiners locking supply, paying what they must, and doing it off-exchange. If you needed a definition of COMEX losing power, it’s this: miners are proving, in audited public reporting, that they can bypass the exchange and get materially better economics.
So ask the only question that matters next: if Samsung is going direct to miners, who else is?
And how many quarters of “26% above COMEX” does it take before the world admits the COMEX price is no longer the physical market’s clearing price?
Apparently the good news is that every time “Crimex” misprices silver, it’s a flash sale for the rest of us.
While banks juggle paper ounces, real investors quietly back up the truck. You can still buy physical silver and gold at today’s discount fantasy prices—just not from a derivative. Check out SprottMoney.com, consistently ranked top for quality, service, vaulting and bullion. Lock in metal while the casino quotes numbers no miner actually accepts. When COMEX finally reconnects with reality, these “on sale” premiums vanish—and so does your chance to buy real metal this cheap.
Hit the Shop Now Button and get your Silver while it is still under $90
end of segment
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