Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
The increasing use of solar power is expected to have a profound effect on the consumption of silver, expresses a new infographic by Visual Capitalist.
In its latest graphic presentation, the Vancouver-based company notes that “silver’s unique properties make it indispensable to industry, and there are more patents issued every year relating to silver than any other metal. With the highest electric conductivity of all metals, silver is essential to solar cells and other electrical-related uses.”
“For every gigawatt of solar power, approximately 2.8 million ounces of silver are needed.” As the per-kilowatt-hour price of solar becomes more and more competitive with other forms of energy, the increased buildout of solar installations is expected to have a knock-on effect for silver.
Last year Kitco reported blogger Albert Sung saying that to produce 1 gigawatt of power, enough to run 750,000 American homes, about 8.3 million ounces of silver would have to be installed – equal or more than the amounts previously used in the photographic film industry.
The Silver Institute predicts that by 2016, 70 million silver ounces are projected to be used for solar energy.
