Source: Scientific American Sept 2010 Comments: From whence will Ag be recycled? The photographic sources are drying up and landfill mining is not practical.[/*] Does this estimate include the potentially explosive increase in use in solar applications (concentrators and thin film)? I'm guessing "no".[/*] Bullish for the white metal .....
As price rises though the ounces recoverable will go up but you'd have to think over the long term its good for silver.
Actually, I see the price of oil skyrocketing in the future, making mining extremely expensive and crushing economies. Silver is mostly a by-product of the mining of other minerals, and as energy rises and economies decline, the amount of silver available will shrink. So I see the supply being limited more by energy and financial constraints than by the extent of the recoverable resource in ground.
The huge increase in demand is people by coins and bars for investment. Can't see that lasting forever. Solar's a pipedream in imo. If there is an oil crunch we will go more nuclear and have electric vehicles. Much cheaper than solar. If economies decline the demand for silver will decline as well as the supply. Long run, it won't be particularly better than most other commodities. Short to medium run...
Whence? One estimate recently on the silver grapevine (unsubstantiated) - 20B Oz in jewellery, ready to melt at the right price. Given the extreme premiums on slver jewellery, that price will need to be multiples, imo, before the great cash for silver melt begins Those cash for gold shops will already have the business model and connections to rake in the tonnes when the mania hits
I wouldn't put too much faith in Sci American. Their standards have been dropping for a long time and they're not far above tabloid journalism these days.
No, as I said most silver is a by product of the mining of other minerals, and that mining depends on economic activity, not investment demand. So if economies sink, mining sinks, and silver supply dries up. People will not mine copper, lead, zinc etc if there is no demand, and they will not mine it just to get the silver.
What's your source for that, other than your own opinion? FYI, the estimates they give are based on USGS stats, so slagging off at SciAm is a bit ridiculous. You are right. It should not last like this for long, there should be a huge increase in both industrial and investment demand, especially as fiat currencies collapse. What are your scientific credentials for saying this? Solar investment is going exponential at the moment. What do you know that nobody else knows? Are you the same dimwit who challenges the validity of global warming on creditcrunch.co.uk forum? Oh gawd, say it ain't so. LOL! Anyone who knows the price and time-to-build of a nuke plant vs solar plants would never say that. LOL! Unless people see precious metals as a store of wealth in uncertain times. Since it's you who says that, it makes me even more certain of my investments.
wont "run out" by 2029 because as prices rise: 1. Makes exploration more attractive; 2. Makes industry look for product substitution of silver; 3. Makes marginal or unprofitable mines more attractive. As these things take hold, supply will rise or stay constant, keeping a lid on prices from exploding.
None of that matters. If the price of silver rises they will increase the amount that they deem can be recovered. If it falls enough they may reduce it.
I believe it. Silver has been mined for a long time and made into all sorts of jewellery, cutlerey, ornaments and so on. I think this 'antiquity silver' is one great unknown that might put a damper on continued massive price rises for a number of years.
Yeah, we might not have much in the way of family silver here in oz, but just imagine how much silver is squirreled away in Europe and the Americas.
Do you think they will suppress silver prices until they start a silver buyback, then once a lot of general silver such as silverware is out of the public they can let the price rise?
