Key Takeaways:
- SILJ returned 71.19% over one year versus 57.34% for SIL
- Silver corrected from above $120 to near $60, a 50% drawdown
- China ends silver futures physical delivery on July 24, adding a catalyst
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SIL and SILJ diverge 14 points as silver swings from $120 to $60
Silver's 50% roundtrip from $120 to $60 is exposing the structural gap between senior producer stability and junior explorer leverage in the mining equity space.
Silver's surge above $120 an ounce and subsequent pullback toward the $60 range has widened the performance gap between the two primary silver mining ETFs, with the Amplify Junior Silver Miners ETF (SILJ) returning 71.19% over the past year against 57.34% for the Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL), according to fund data.
"The divergence reflects the structural difference in portfolio composition — SILJ holds development-stage names whose net asset values reprice violently when silver moves, while SIL is anchored by cash-flow-generating majors," said Omar Tariq, a commodities analyst covering precious metals. "When silver rises, junior reserves become economic overnight. When it falls, financing evaporates and equity holders absorb the loss."
SIL's top holding is Wheaton Precious Metals at 22.30%, a streaming company that buys future production at fixed low prices, removing operational risk from nearly a quarter of the portfolio. Adding Pan American Silver at 12.16%, Coeur Mining at 7.26%, and Fresnillo at 5.43%, roughly half the fund sits in cash-generating majors with balance sheets built to survive a silver price roundtrip. SILJ, by contrast, tracks the Prospector Junior Silver Miners Index, targeting small-cap explorers and pre-production names where very few holdings generate meaningful free cash flow.
The $120-to-$60 swing in context
Silver's rally above $120 marked a multi-decade high before the metal corrected sharply, testing the $60 level that had previously served as resistance. The 50% drawdown has hit junior miners disproportionately — their share prices move on drill results and financing terms rather than operating cash flow, amplifying both upside and downside. SILJ's five-year returns have nearly converged with SIL's, demonstrating that junior leverage cuts both ways over longer holding periods.
A further catalyst emerged on July 24, when China ends silver futures trading for physical delivery, removing paper hedging capacity from the market. That shift could disproportionately affect SILJ's marginal exploration reserves, which are more sensitive to changes in physical market dynamics than the established production profiles held by SIL.
What the divergence means for positioning
The 14-percentage-point performance gap between the two funds represents a structural choice for investors. SIL offers exposure to silver prices with operational risk dampened by streaming contracts and diversified production bases. SILJ provides torque to the silver price — higher beta on the way up and steeper losses on the way down.
For context, the broader critical minerals reshoring trade has seen the VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF (REMX) surge 146% since April 2025, according to MarketBeat data, as China's export controls on rare earths redirected capital toward domestic supply chains. Silver miners have not benefited from the same policy tailwind, making the SIL-SILJ divergence a pure play on silver price direction rather than geopolitical supply chain restructuring.
Silver last traded near $60, with the next catalyst being China's July 24 futures delisting and the Federal Reserve's next rate decision, which will determine the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding precious metals.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
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