National silver panorama between 2010 and 2014

Abstract

Having the name derived from the Latin word Argentun, silver (Ag) is a transition metal that has high electrical conduction and corrosion resistance. It is usually found aggregated with copper, zinc and gold minerals. Widely used in the manufacture of mirrors and coins, in dental processes such as silver amalgam, in the production of jewelry and cutlery, in photography and electronic devices due to its high electrical conductivity. This research aims to describe the data obtained in the mineral summaries of the National Department of Mineral Research (http://www.dnpm.gov.br), the bibliographic research was carried out in scientific articles, using computers from the computer laboratory of the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Amapá. When it comes to silver mining, Mexico is the country that stands out as a producer and Peru currently has the largest reserve in the world. Brazil has tiny reserves of silver mineral, its participation in the world production of this metal is almost negligible. In the country there have never been records of the extraction of silver as the main product, it is always found associated with other substances and ploughed as a by-product of their extraction. The national production takes place mostly in primary metals and to a lesser extent concentrated metal, because it is more expensive and requires more processing steps. The demand for silver is much higher than its production in the country, which makes import spending higher than those with exports. The most exported material is the primary good and the most imported is the semi-manufactured product. The domestic consumption of silver in the country is almost stable, with few variations. The sectors that consume the most silver are: coinage, the photographic industry, the jeweler's sector and electronics. Its price has been experiencing a decline after a record increase in 2011 due to low industrial demand associated with large supply of the metal.