Silver and tin: 2 new critical electric metals, says Byron Capital

Silver and tin are two new critical electric metals that are garnering attention, according to Dr. Jon Hykawy, head of global research, clean technologies at Byron Capital Markets, who kicked off a talk on battery materials at the third annual electric metals conference in Toronto on Thursday.

These two metals are expected to see a sharp boost in demand, leading to a predicted shortage in materials for electronics like iPads and Kindles starting in 2017, and an anticipated increase in prices.
Demand for both silver and tin is driven by the fact that both metals are key components in solder alloys that meet the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive implemented in the EU in 2006.

The directive, which took effect in July of 2006, recognizes that a large proportion of electronic waste will never be recycled, and therefore the materials within devices will dissipate into the environment. For example, when lead is used in substances such as the solder that connects components to a circuit board in an electronic device, there is no way the lead can be collected.

As a result, the EU said that substances like solder, at least within devices intended for sale in the region, must not contain any of the hazardous materials the directive is concerned with, including lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls and diphenyl ether.

Because of this new law, the search for a new standard solder in the electronics industry began, resulting in a mixture of tin and silver - putting pressure on supplies for both of these metals.