Silver served as an unminted money for all larger transactions in late imperial China, yet historical sources on silver mining are scarce and unsatisfactory. While we know that the most important silver mines were located in Yunnan province and adjoining regions since the Yuan period, official records suggest very modest outputs that moreover declined steadily fell from through the Ming and Qing periods. This article analyses records and actual conditions on site with a focus on a specific mine that is comparatively well-documented as well as datable and provided particularly good conditions for fieldwork. Drawing on fieldwork on the remains on site and on local oral histories, an exemplary assessment of the fully official and the private records becomes possible. The discussion expands the focus to the known major silver mines in the regions, revealing the massive omissions in the official records. The presented research demonstrates the limited use of official government records and proposes an approach based on actual sites, material remains and oral histories for a new study of the history of late imperial silver mining.