Silver Ore is less about armor and more about bling. Two chunks at a smelter make a 
Silver Ingot, which you turn into silver rings and necklaces at the forge, often with a gem set in. No special perk is needed for jewelry, which makes silver a nice early way to level Smithing. Each chunk is worth 25 gold, and there are 119 veins in the game.
How to get it
Silver is a Reach specialty. Cidhna Mine in Markarth has 6 veins, though most visitors arrive there as prisoners. Sanuarach Mine has 7 veins, Sunderstone Gorge has 4, and Benkongerike on Solstheim has 4. There are also 7 veins outdoors near the Forgotten Vale and 2 each at Damphall Mine and near the Winterhold Imperial Camp.
Loose ore turns up in Endon‘s house in Markarth (6), in Karthwasten (4), in Alftand’s ruined tower (4), in Enmon‘s house (3) and at Morvunskar. Blacksmiths and general goods merchants such as Belethor and Brand-Shei sell it, and bandits, peddlers and Falmer carry it from time to time. If you already have a pile of iron, Transmute Mineral Ore is another easy source.
Smelting and tanning
- 2 Silver Ore → 1 Silver Ingot at the smelter
Used to craft
Silver Ore appears in 1 recipe in the game files.
Weapons and other items
- smelter: Silver Ingot (2)
The number in brackets is how many Silver Ore each recipe needs. Bold labels are the Smithing perk the recipe requires.
Good to know
Iron Ore
Gold OreData from the Skyrim game files (Skyrim.esm and the official add-ons): value, weight, ore veins, recipes and merchant lists. ID 0005ACDF is the item’s form ID for the console.
