The majority of PV cells use silver paste in their construction and that industry alone is expected to account for 70m ounces of supply through to the beginning of 2016. Silver demand for the PV industry grew by about 7pc last year and that rate of growth is expected to increase over the next decade. Despite the bright long-term demand picture for silver, prices for the metal have slumped over the past three years from an average of $61 per ounce to just under $17 per ounce. A major cause of this drastic drop has been China, which is the world’s major industrial user. Like all commodities which depend on Chinese factories, silver has suffered.