Silver occurs in nature in its native form (a rare mineral consisting mainly of metallic silver), along with sulfur, arsenic, antimony and chlorine.

It is also found in the ores: argentite (a rare mineral from the sulfide group), chlorargyrite (a very rare mineral from the halide group), and pyrargyrite (a mineral from the sulfur-salt group, very rare). The main sources of silver are copper, copper-nickel, gold, lead, and lead-zinc ores.