Rare earth metals, although often seemingly similar to each other due to their positioning on stock exchanges, differ drastically from each other. Lithium and (primarily) silver have a different market nature than platinum or gold—although these are also needed for technology production. Differences arise in the realm of liquidity supply, and the “key players” also vary. For this reason, we place silver alongside metals like copper, lithium, or nickel—meaning for the purposes of this analysis, we treat it as an industrial metal.
The basis of our considerations regarding these metals is an attempt to estimate the real impact of the development of sectors related to battery production, pharmaceuticals, automotive development, and the arms industry on the market valuation of raw materials. In the following considerations, we primarily outline the issue of (im)balance between demand and supply and their characteristics, as well as potential directions for the development of production/mining efficiency of lithium and silver.
