Find silver coatings: Industrial uses of silver

Silver is one of the oldest precious metals known to mankind, surpassed only by gold. And as with gold, demand for silver comes from a variety of different markets that go well beyond traditional jewelry and currencies. This precious metal is heavily used in high technology, electrical, heating and many industrial fields. Given this versatility of use, especially in our increasingly electrified world, investors can can expect an exponential increase in silver demand.

There are many technological use cases for silver these days. Analyst project silver will play a central role in the “green revolution” and play a fundamental role in green technologies as well as in the fintech area with its applications in crypto mining and the broader cryptocurrency market.

Before we dive into why silver is a worthwhile investment, it is important to understand how silver is used in technology today, from its industrial applications to more modern technology products.

The unique technological properties of silver

Silver has the highest thermal and electrical conductivity of any metal, which is what it is used extensively in electronic and technological applications today.

Electronics require silver of the highest purity 99.99 percent silver. During processing, the precious metal can either be melted and refined from ores into bars or grains, or it can be dissolved in nitric acid to form silver nitrate, which can then be processed into powder or flakes. This material can then be processed into contacts or silver pastes, such as conductive paste made from a silver-palladium alloy.

How is silver used in today’s technology products?

The main use of silver in the technology industry is electronics, the 35 percent of the total silver consumption in the United States. The precious metal’s unmatched thermal and electrical conductivity among metals makes it a superior metal over less expensive alternatives.

The role of silver as a superconductor makes its use in electronics and technology extremely diverse. Small amounts of silver are used in electronic applications such as contacts in electrical switches and wires, nanosilver conductive paints in printed electronics, automotive innovations, silver oxide high weight and high performance batteries, and many everyday devices.

Silver’s versatility extends to the booming cryptocurrency industry as well. Unsurprisingly, the metal plays an important role in the function of circuit boards in computers and their associated keyboards. A computer’s cooling system needs the superconducting thermal properties of silver to keep the system from overheating while increasing the enormous amount of power computers use to compute. Crypto mining rigs run massive clusters of Graphics processing units over a network of computers day and night, so the need for silver conductivity cannot be underestimated.

Industrial uses of silver

According to market research, industrial buyers drive more than 50 percent of the silver requirement. In 2020 alone, industrial production reached over 486.8 million ounces asked. Given the rapid global efforts to decarbonize and electrify the world, three specific areas have very promising and high-grade silver consumption.

These industries include the automotive sector and electric vehicles including the associated infrastructure, the solar energy industry and the fifth generation of mobile broadband networks (5G). Silver demand in 5G technology could more than double to 16 million ounces by 2025 and triple to 23 million ounces by 2030, estimates by Raw material management for precious metals.

Additionally, the metal’s high tensile strength and ductility make it an ideal option for brazing and soldering or flattening into sheet metal for use in a variety of industries including chemical manufacturing, medicine, photography, and more. With so many uses, the very valuable metal offers exceptional market demand and prospects as a raw material of the future.

Silver in today’s technology markets

At multiple stages of production, silver offers excellent economic growth and upside potential for investors. Despite a global pandemic, silver proved its safe haven status for investment portfolios and soared 47.89 percent in 2020. However, before silver becomes a viable resource in the latest technology and industrial applications, the markets need silver exploration and development companies to produce the valuable commodity.

Lakewood exploration (CSE: LWD) is a silver exploration company focused on becoming a multi-mine silver producer. Its growing asset portfolio includes recently acquired former manufacturing companies Mines Silver Strand and Burnt Cabin is located in Idaho’s prestigious Silver Valley mining district – an area that has produced over 1.2 billion ounces of silver and is home to some of the largest silver mines in the world; the Eliza Project, located near the historic Hamilton Silver District, Nevada, which produced 40 million ounces of silver in the 19th century; the formerly producing Silverton silver mine is also located in Nevada within the same trend as numerous several hundred million ounce silver deposits; and the early-stage Lacy gold-silver project in British Columbia.

In August 2021 the company reported high grade surface samples including 11.79 g / t gold and 255 g / t silver to further expand the mineralized trend at Silver Strand. “We are delighted with these results, which confirm widespread alteration and gold-silver mineralization throughout the property and along the 5.5 km strike,” said Morgan Lekstrom, President of Lakewood Resources.

Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) is a mineral exploration and development company operating silver mines in Alaska, Idaho, and Mexico. The company has a variety of exploration properties and pre-development projects in six silver and gold mining areas in North America. Hecla uses the politically stable and mining-friendly legal systems of North America to meet the requirements of the current silver markets.

Santacruz Silver Mining (TSXV:SCZ, OTC Pink: SZSMF) is poised to become Mexico’s next medium-sized silver producer. It currently operates its Rosario Project and the Zimapan Project in the top mining areas in Mexico. Both properties benefit significantly from an exceptional infrastructure with road access, utility networks, skilled labor and significant exploration and discovery potential in one of the richest silver producing countries in the world.

Bring away

Today silver offers exceptional versatility in use in some of the world’s dominant sectors. As a superconductor, the precious metal has the highest thermal and electrical conductivity of all metals, making it an ideal material to drive the “green revolution” and meet the requirements of increasingly electrified industries and popular crypto-mining technologies. Investors could see huge economic upside by investing in this safe haven and the exploration companies that deliver it to the world.

This INNSpired article is sponsored by Lakewood Exploration (CSE: LWD). This INNSpired article contains information obtained from the Investing News Network (INN) and approved by Lakewood Exploration to help investors learn more about the company. Lakewood Exploration is an INN customer. The company’s campaign fees pay INN to create and update this INNSpired article.

INN does not provide investment advice and the information on this profile should not be viewed as a recommendation to buy or sell any securities. INN does not endorse or recommend the businesses, products, services, or securities of any featured company.

The information contained herein is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as an offer or solicitation to sell or buy any securities. Readers should research any publicly available information about the company themselves. Before making an investment decision, readers are advised to contact Lakewood Exploration directly for advice from a qualified investment advisor.