Company: CHNR
Filing Date: 2025-05-15
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0001079973-25-000827
Chunk: 79

Company: CHINA NATURAL RESOURCES INC
Filing Date: 2025-05-15
Form: 20-F
Item: Item 4
Chunk 79
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 the past five years:
 
                                                                   2020             2021             2022             2023             2024     
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World mine production (thousand tons)                                  4,437            4,552            4,433            4,459            4,511
World refined production (thousand tons)                              12,545           13,039           12,829           13,271           13,029
World refined usage (thousand tons)                                   12,392           12,995           13,006           13,104           12,998
London Mercantile Exchange (“LME”) average price (US$/ton)*            1,994            2,304            2,293                *                *
SHFE average price (CNY/ton)                                          14,745           15,370           15,930           15,860           16,765
 ———————
 Source: International Lead and Zinc Study Group, LME, SHFE.
 *Certain data are not available.
 
Silver (chemical element symbol Ag) is a soft, ductile, and malleable metal with the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity and reflectivity of any metal. It has a brilliant white metallic luster that can take a high polish and has similar physical and chemical properties with copper and gold. Most silver is produced as a byproduct during refining of copper, gold, lead, or zinc. Despite being more abundant than gold, silver has long been valued as a precious metal and used in currency and as an investment medium (bullion coins) alongside gold. It is also used as an industrial metal in jewelry, silverware, medicine, electronics, brazing alloys, chemical equipment, catalysis, photography, etc.

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Silver is an internationally traded commodity, the price of which is established on commodity markets throughout the world. Silver tends to trend in lockstep with gold, but it also has its own unique market trend because it has stronger industrial attributes compared with gold. During 2024, there was still a forecasted silver supply deficit. Although the world economy faced many risks and uncertainties caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Israel Hamas war, and persistent high inflation and interest rate in many major economies, global industrial demand for silver remained strong in 2024. This was mainly attributed to the rapidly developing and prosperous photovoltaic industry, new energy vehicle industry and AI industry. The