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Why was Silesia valuable to Prussia?

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Historical map showing the unification of Germany by Prussia in the late 19th century. The map highlights in green the Kingdom of Prussia as of 1866, and in yellow the additional territories that formed the German Empire by 1871-1918, encompassing most of north-central Europe. Neighboring countries such as France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Switzerland are labeled, with major regions and states within the empire clearly marked. — Prussia The unification of Germany by Prussia, which brought most of north-central Europe into one kingdom.

Silesia was primarily valuable to Prussia due to its immense wealth. By the 18th century, the region’s flourishing mining and textile industries had established it as the richest of all the Habsburgs’ Austrian provinces.1

This economic prosperity was the primary motivation for Frederick II (the Great) to seize the territory from the Austrian empress Maria Theresa during the War of the Austrian Succession. Following the Prussian conquest, the region underwent significant economic development, with expanded mining of coal, iron ore, lead, and zinc, as well as increased manufacturing, which eventually made Silesia the second most important industrial area in Germany.21