Note- a good trick for finding silver before Bonemass or the Elder- make a stagbreaker and run around in the mountains whacking the ground with it- If you see a "too hard" message, thats silver. Just keep whacking around the place to roughly triangulate and then go digging. Can do it in the swamp too for those hidden muddy debris piles for iron too if youre so inclined. Also works with the iron sledge. Of course you have to make your own arrangements for survival doing that, but bronze should serve, as long as youre careful and keep your food up.
(Note- you'll have to go swamp-pounding first till you get enough iron for a pick for the silver iirc?)