Metals & Mineral Products Used to Make a Solar Panel • Arsenic (gallium-arsenide semicon- • Lead (batteries). Mined in China, Aus- ductor chips). Mined in China, Chile, tralia, United States, Peru, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Kazakhstan, Russia, Bel- Canada, India, Bolivia, Poland, Russia, gium and Mexico. Sweden, Ireland and South Africa. • Bauxite (aluminum). Mined in Austra- • Phosphate rock (phosphorous). Mined in China, United lia, China, Brazil, India, Guinea, Jamaica, States, Morocco, Western Sahara, Russia, Tunisia, Jordan, Bra- Russia, Venezuela, Suriname, Kazakh- zil, Syria, Israel, Egypt, South Africa and Canada. stan, Guyana and Greece. • Selenium (solar cells). Mined in Japan, Belgium, Canada, Russia, • Boron Minerals (semiconductor chips). Chile, the Philippines, Finland, Peru, Sweden and India. Mined in United States, Turkey, Argen- • Silica (solar cells). Mined in United States, Italy, Germany, Unit- tina, Chile, Russia, Peru, China, Bolivia ed Kingdom, Australia, France, Spain, Japan, Poland, Hungary, and Kazakhstan. South Africa, Mexico, Austria, Iran, Republic of Korea, Slovakia, • Cadmium (thin film solar cells). Mined Canada, Belgium, India, Bulgaria, Norway, Chile, Gambia, Tur- in China, Republic of Korea, Japan, Ka- key and Czech Republic. zakhstan, Mexico, Canada, Russia, Unit- • Tellurium (solar cells). Mined in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chi- ed States, India, Netherlands, Poland, na, Germany, Japan, Kazakhstan, Peru, Philippines, Russia and Germany and Australia. United States. • Coal (by-product coke is used to make • Titanium dioxide (solar panels). Mined in Australia, South Af- steel). Coal is mined world-wide, and rica, Canada, China, India, Norway, Ukraine, Vietnam, Mozam- constitutes 45% of the generation of bique, United States, Sierra Leone and Brazil. U.S. electricity. Reprinted with permission and adapted from the Mineral Information • Copper (wiring; thin film solar cells). Institute. For more information, visit www.mii.org. Mined in Chile, United States, Peru, China, Australia, Russia, Indonesia, Can- ada, Zambia, Poland and Mexico. • Gallium (solar cells). Mined in China, INTERESTING FACTS Germany, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. In 1954 Photovoltaic technology was born in the United States when • Indium (solar cells). Mined in China, Re- Daryl Chapin, Calvin Fuller, and Gerald Pearson developed the sili- public of Korea, Japan, Canada, Belgium, con photovoltaic (PV) cell at Bell Labs—the first solar cell capable of Russia, Peru and Brazil. converting enough of the sun’s energy into power to run everyday • Iron ore (steel). Mined in China, Brazil, electrical equipment. Australia, India, Russia, Ukraine, United States, South Africa, Iran, Canada, Swe- Molybdenum is “sputtered” onto the photovoltaic cells as a base con- den, Kazakhstan, Venezuela and Mexico. ductive layer for all the other layers. Sputtering is a process that uses • Molybdenum (photovoltaic cells). Mined ions of an inert gas to dislodge atoms from the surface of a crystalline in China, United States, Chile, Peru, material, the atoms then being electrically deposited to form an ex- Mexico, Canada, Armenia, Iran, Russia tremely thin coating on a glass, metal, plastic, or other surface. and Mongolia..