IMO I don't see silver over $40 in the near term. As lock-downs continue and deflationary fears build later this year I think its more likely to see a pullback in price of PMs, with gold pulling further back then silver in % terms. Very good buying opportunity coming up end of 2020! Although stand to be corrected.
Edit to add: I don't see silver hitting $40 in the near term either and agree there could be excellent buying opportunity ahead. Although, there are a lot of threats to the global economy and higher inflation is likely to be guaranteed. What is most exciting is the 10+ year Outlook.
However, we could be looking back in the not too distant future at these prices and seeing the potential buying opportunity today.
In the article I'm writing, I have done a deep dive into the global supply and reserves of the primary miners. But what is more exciting, is the supply of the primary, lead, gold, zinc and copper miners where the bulk of the silver mine production comes from. 40% of the silver mine supply comes from lead and zinc mines, and Let me tell you this, the 10 year outlook on silver has never looked better! We don't have a lot of in ground silver reserves and are set to reach peak zinc/lead & copper sooner than I thought. There is mounting evidence to suggest we have already reached peak gold. Less mine production from all of these metals is set to reduce mine production of silver on a byproduct/co-product basis (byproduct mining equates to approx 70% of annual mine supply). 12 of the top 15 primary silver mines are set to deplete within the next 6-8 years. I have links to the only scientific peer reviewed study published on the mine life of the primary miners (2018), along with other analysis suggesting nearly identical outcomes. You can calculate the reserves of each mine and weigh it against annual production to get a rough idea of mine lifespan anyway.
As I've said previously, the only thing I can see preventing the silver price from exploding is a massive reduction in consumption or massive increase in supply. From my analysis, an increase in supply is extremely unlikely and a reduction of consumption is only likely If we have a reduction in population.
I have explored the scrap metal supply potential and unconventional mine supply e.g deep seabed mining and asteroid mining in enough detail to conclude they are unlikely threats to Silvers potential at this stage.