Argentine workers enter the Melissa Underground Mine operated by Pan American Silver Corp.

Whether its G. Gordon Liddy or the guy who Matt Damon beat up in Good Will Hunting, you can’t turn on the TV without being bombarded by gold pitchmen. And while yearly gold charts look like the left side of a mountain, the rise in silver prices over the past two years is equally impressive.

Marc Davis of BNW Newswire says the impetus for greater silver exploration is definitely there, but we’re just not seeing it worldwide…with one notable exception. “Argentina posted a 55% jump in silver output in 2009 to 15.5 million ounces over the previous year.

One of the world’s few remaining stable democracies that is mineral-rich but underdeveloped, this geographically large Latin American nation is set to continue to ramp-up its output in the coming years,” writes Davis.

He says the major players in the region are three Vancouver-based companies: Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ: SSRI), Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS), Extorre Gold Mines (TSX: XG) and Australia’s Andean Resources (TSX: AND).

Davis explains why silver is a good play going forward: “A number of key 21st century applications such as solar panels and flat screen television panels are forecast to contribute strongly to heightened demand. Furthermore, the marketplace for semiconductors, which are used in an array of portable electronic devices and other high-tech applications, is experiencing explosive growth.” (Full story at Resource Investor)