Sun Silver’s (ASX:SS1) cornerstone asset is the Maverick Springs project, about 85km from the fully serviced mining town of Elko in Nevada and surrounded by several world-class gold and silver mining operations including Barrick Gold’s Carlin mine.
Maverick Springs has a current inferred resource of 125.4Mt @ 43.5g/t Ag and 0.34g/t Au for 175.7Moz of contained silver and 1.37Moz of contained gold (292Moz of contained silver equivalent).
A total of ~200 holes for ~60,000m of drilling has been completed at the project to date, across just ~20% of the landholding – and there’s more to come.
Various US government departments have committed trillions of dollars to grant funding projects contributing towards the globe’s renewable energy transition, including over US$400m in funding to ASX listed companies Novonix (ASX:NVX) & Syrah Resources (ASX:SYR).
Separate to the billions of dollars currently available in grant and alternative funding through these agencies, the Whitehouse recently increased tariffs on Chinese solar imports from 25% to 50% to further encourage localisation of solar manufacturing.
Silver is a big part of that, accounting for up to 23% of the material cost of a photovoltaic (PV) cell in the form of silver paste.
Sun Silver has engaged Holland & Knight to lead a two-stage process aimed at securing funding for the development of a silver paste facility in the USA, aligning with their ambitious solar energy targets.
SS1 says the Holland & Knight team have “exceptional ties” to key federal decision-makers in Congress and the Biden Administration.
A local solution to provide silver paste within the USA to US PV Cell manufacturers will enable the USA to further decrease its reliance on China for PV Cell components and materials.
Its primary function in solar panels is to create electrical connections between the solar cells, due to its electrical conductivity and stability under various environmental conditions.
At the moment it’s concentrated in a limited number of chemical companies that almost exclusively supply to China, which dominates >90% of global solar component manufacturing.
This concentration raises concerns about the vulnerability of the supply chain to potential disruptions, emphasising the need for diversification and resilience in sourcing strategies for this critical component in solar panel manufacturing.
Silver paste involves a relatively simple low-cost process to manufacture and sells at a significant premium to spot price silver via industrial offtake agreements.
“Today marks a pivotal moment for the company as we embark on a crucial partnership with Holland & Knight,” SS1 exec director Gerard O’Donovan says.
“Currently within the USA it is a perfect storm when it comes to solar energy. This is attributed to key government initiatives and policy shifts.
“Firstly, there is a notable government commitment to solar energy, underscored by ambitious targets and secondly, there’s a heightened focus on reducing dependence on imported Chinese solar components and materials, evidenced by increased tariffs.
“Sun Silver recognises a significant opportunity to contribute to the United States solar advancement by offering a local solution for silver paste. This initiative will further diminish reliance on Chinese imports, which aligns with government goals.”
