Assessing the supply potential of high-tech metals - A general method

A simple example is used to illustrate the complete estimation process. It shows that in addition to ensuring future adaptability of the results, availability curves are also useful for the assessment of the current supply regime of a given by-product. An elastic and inelastic regime might be distinguished - in the elastic regime, significant demand-driven increases in by-product supply are possible without increases in the production of the main product, while in the inelastic regime this is not the case. The method presented in this article is the first to enable such an assessment to be made in a reliable and transparent manner.