Industrial Usage

Abstract

Worldwide usage of silver in 1983 for industrial and decorative applications was fully 25% below that of ten years earlier. U.S. Bureau of Mines data on industrial consumption of silver in the United States show a dramatic decline of 40% between 1973 and 1983, from 196 million Troy ounces down to 117 million. Previously published accounts have overstated consumption because the degree of recycling has been grossly underestimated. And the degree of recycling has increased steadily since the early 1970’s, due to higher silver prices, the uncertainties of price volatility, and increasingly stringent ecology legislation.