This out today, $19 billion ASX200 miner South32 and leading...

This out today,
$19 billion ASX200 miner South32 and leading intelligence provider CRU estimate massive silver demand growth between now and 2040 thanks to its increasing use in solar panels. At the same time a lack of new silver mines coming online is expected to result in a material shortage of the precious metal.
South32 in a presentation this week put the expected silver supply-demand gap under the microscope to show just how much of the precious metal will be needed by 2040 to help the world meet its emissions reductions targets.
Silver is the preferred metal for use in solar panels due to its superior electrical conductivity, with South32 and CRU modelling suggesting a 14x increase on solar capacity if the world is to restrict global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The mining heavyweight’s base case scenario shows a 55% increase in primary demand out to 2040, with demand expected to climb a further 25% to roughly 1.4 billion ounces to achieve 1.5 degrees Celsius.
https://unauthorised investment advice/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Silver-Market-Chart.jpg
Source: South32 analysis and CRU
But to meet the additional demand of 30 million ounces each year until 2040, South32 says this requires more than two new Cannington mines to be built each year. South32’s Cannington mine in northwest Queensland is one of the world’s largest and lowest cost producers of silver.
However, there are very few high-silver polymetallic mines identified globally meaning the market is headed for a material silver deficit. At the same time, constrained mine volumes in China are expected to induce higher imports of high silver-lead concentrates to meet domestic demand, South32 says.