Analyzing the dynamics of changes in demand, production, and cost for lead, tin and chromium

Developments in electronics and electronic device manufacturing technologies including smartphones, computers and electric cars are significantly affecting demand. About half of the world’s tin is used in the production of solder, and the increasing number of consumers of electronics is driving up tin prices. It should be noted that the existing methods of lead recycling do not pay attention to the main impurities in the composition of the metal, which include arsenic, selenium, tellurium, bismuth, antimony, silver, copper, nickel, zinc and tin. However, they are valuable products in their own right, as their recovery during lead recycling is much more cost-effective than their extraction from ore materials. The addition of chromium in the steel manufacturing process is known to increase the corrosion resistance of steel. These steel alloys are known as stainless steel, which accounts for most of the commercial use of metallic chromium. Chromium electroplating, commonly known as chromium plating, is the other major application of chromium. In connection with the sanctions and rising prices for chromium and stainless steels of the 20Х13–40Х13 range used in the production of medical, food equipment and hardware, stop valves for the oil and gas industry, the issue of using domestic resources of the Republic of Belarus is acute. From the above data, it can be seen that over the period from 2020 to 2023, Sn prices have increased by 25.4 to 46.4 times, Pb by 1.28 to 2.9 times, Cr the period from the period from 2016 to 2023 by 2,08 to 31,9 times.