Silver

Demand for silver is from three main sources; industrial and decorative uses, photography and jewellery & silverware. Together, these three categories represent more than 95 percent of annual silver consumption. In 2006, 430.3 million ounces of silver were used for industrial applications, while over 145.8 million ounces of silver were committed to the photographic sector, 165.8 million ounces were consumed in the jewellery market, and 59.1 million ounces were consumed in the silverware market.

Silver has a number of unique properties including strength, malleability and ductility, its electrical and thermal conductivity, its sensitivity to and high reflectance of light and its ability to endure extreme temperature ranges.

Silver's unique properties restrict its substitution in most applications and it can be found in all of the following: batteries, bearings, brazing and soldering, catalysts, coins, electronic components, electroplating, photography, medical applications, jewellery and silverware, mirrors and coatings, solar energy and water purification.

Gold

Gold has been used by humans for thousands of years and primary uses of this precious metal have not changed. Using gold to fashion ornaments and jewellery and as the ultimate store of value is still the main use of gold today.

Money is something that functions as a medium of exchange. The ideal money has to be easily identifiable, durable, stable and free from intrinsic price fluctuations. Gold meets all of these criteria and is perhaps the only material in the world that does. Being the best form of money, gold is the traditional anti-inflation protection. Fiat currency, or bad money, can be subjected to devaluation as a result of wars, revolutions or bad government fiscal policies. In times of financial crisis, gold is the refuge of choice for those seeking a safe economic haven.

This beautiful metal is extremely ductile and malleable, making it easy to work with. Since prehistoric times, gold is primarily used to make ornaments. Till today, the biggest proportion of the annual production of gold is consumed by the jewellery industry.

As technology advanced over the past decades, gold has found additional uses in areas such as electronics and dentistry although these new applications consume only a small proportion of gold mined every year. Gold is not affected by air and most reagents and is a very good conductor of heat and electricity. Heat, moisture, oxygen, and most corrosive agents have very little chemical effect on gold. This makes gold an excellent material for electrical switching mechanisms and plug contacts.