Steve St. Angelo has pointed out that peak oil is relevant for the future prices of silver. Oil production is falling, while costs and consumption are increasing. Mining one ounce of silver requires a certain amount energy (i.e. oil). However, the cost of extracting and refining one unit of energy in the form of oil to retrieve that ounce of silver from the ground is likewise snowballing. In the long-term, a higher silver price is a mathematical certainty. Remarkably, it was higher oil prices that pushed silver to peak in price in 1980 and 2011.