Silver is often maligned as “poor man’s gold,” or the least glamorous of the precious metals. However, silver is not the runt of the litter as it may seem at first glance. Here are three exciting facts about silver that you may not have known before:

Silver Is In Everything You Own

Industry is running rampant with amazing possibilities for this metal. Silver is used in nuclear reactors as the main component in silver-alloy control rods due to its ability to absorb neutrons. Its antimicrobial qualities have found widespread uses, ranging from silvering the tools used in meat processing to deodorizing clothing and athletic shoes, to extending the shelf life of foods with packaging impregnated with molecular silver. This property also has silver finding its way into water purification operations—you might be drinking silver right now.

Silver is also used in high-end electronics and small electrical components due to its superior conductive properties and low resistance, even when tarnished. High fidelity audio equipment often uses silver leads and wires. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags sometimes use silver antennas, since the low resistance of the metal reduces the tag’s power requirements.

Silver May Outperform Gold

This booming demand for silver will drive silver prices up as time goes by. Some investment gurus, such as David Morgan at The Morgan Report, suggest that silver may actually outperform gold in upcoming years due to industrial pressure, particularly that coming from large and growing economies like that of China. If these trends continue, and there is no reason to suspect that they won’t, silver will become an increasingly powerful investment in the approaching future.

Seventy Percent Of Silver Production Is A Byproduct

Only about 30% of silver production comes from specific silver mining. In fact, silver tends to co-occur with other metals in nature, so it is primarily obtained as a refinery byproduct in mines whose main production is lead, copper, gold, or some other metal. There is more than enough silver in the ground to support the current demand, but since the vast majority of silver infrastructure depends on other metals’ production, supply is not as fast to respond to demand as it would be if silver mining were a larger part of the supply input.

These factors mean that silver is a great investment, right now. As time passes, silver will only become more desirable.