🇺🇸 PROUDLY MADE IN AMERICA · EASTERN TENNESSEE
PURITY THAT POWERS AMERICA
Strategic Materials Refining Group produces ultra-high purity silver at 4N, 5N, and 6N grades — the critical material backbone of America's electronics, nuclear, space, and defense industries.
4N
99.99%
Electronics Grade
5N
99.999%
Nuclear Grade
6N
99.9999%
Space & Defense Grade
6N
Maximum Purity Grade
99.9999% Ag
4
Critical Industries
Served Domestically
100%
American Made
Eastern Tennessee
3
Purity Grades
4N · 5N · 6N
ABOUT SMRG
AMERICA'S STRATEGIC SILVER REFINERY
Strategic Materials Refining Group was founded on a singular conviction: that America’s most critical industries deserve a domestic, sovereign source of ultra-high purity silver. Located in Eastern Tennessee — a region with a proud heritage of advanced manufacturing and proximity to the nation’s nuclear and defense research corridors — SMRG is purpose-built to serve the industries where material failure is not an option.
Silver possesses the highest electrical conductivity, highest thermal conductivity, and highest optical reflectivity of any metal. At ultra-high purity grades — 4N (99.99%), 5N (99.999%), and 6N (99.9999%) — these properties are maximized, making SMRG silver the material of choice for semiconductor fabrication, nuclear reactor control systems, satellite electronics, and mission-critical defense platforms.
- Highest electrical conductivity of any metal
- Fully domestic supply chain
- ISO 9001 certified quality management
- Highest thermal conductivity of any metal
- TAR-compliant operations
- NRC-licensed facility
PRODUCTS & SPECIFICATIONS
AMERICA'S STRATEGIC SILVER REFINERY
SMRG produces silver at three distinct purity levels, each engineered to meet the exacting specifications of the world’s most demanding industrial applications.
4N
Ag 99.99%
Four Nines Silver
Electronics & Industrial Grade
The foundational grade for advanced electronics manufacturing. SMRG 4N silver delivers the conductivity and purity required for printed circuit board pastes, multilayer ceramic capacitors, membrane switches, and high-performance electrical contacts.
KEY APPLICATIONS
- PCB conductive pastes
- MLCC electrodes
- Electrical contacts & switches
- Silver brazing alloys
- Photovoltaic cell metallization
- Catalytic converters
MOST REQUESTED
5N
Ag 99.999%
Five Nines Silver
Nuclear & Advanced Industrial Grade
Engineered for applications where trace impurities can compromise safety or performance. SMRG 5N silver meets the stringent requirements of nuclear reactor control rod alloys, advanced semiconductor processing, and precision optical systems.
KEY APPLICATIONS
- Nuclear control rod alloys (Ag-In-Cd)
- Semiconductor sputtering targets
- Precision optical coatings
- High-purity silver wire
- Advanced brazing applications
- Medical device components
6N
Ag 99.9999%
Six Nines Silver
Space, Defense & Research Grade
The apex of silver purity — produced for applications where no compromise is possible. SMRG 6N silver serves the most demanding environments in human engineering: deep space missions, nuclear weapons components, radiation-hardened electronics, and fundamental materials research.
KEY APPLICATIONS
- Space-grade electrical connectors
- Satellite solar array contacts
- Radiation-hardened electronics
- Defense system components
- Research & standards laboratories
- Advanced photonics
AVAILABLE PRODUCT FORMS
Ingots
Cast to specification
Granules
Controlled particle size
Powder
Sub-micron available
Wire
Custom gauge
Foil
Ultra-thin available
Shot
Uniform spheres
OUR PROCESS
PRECISION REFINING FROM FEEDSTOCK TO PURITY
SMRG employs the industry-leading Moebius electrolytic refining process — the gold standard for producing ultra-high purity silver. This electrochemical method achieves selectivity and purity levels unattainable by pyrometallurgical techniques, consistently delivering silver at or above specification across all three purity grades.
STAGE 1 — ALL GRADES: MOEBIUS ELECTROLYTIC REFINING
STEP 1
Feedstock Receipt & Assay
All incoming silver feedstock — including industrial scrap, doré, and refined silver — undergoes rigorous ICP-MS and XRF analysis to establish baseline composition and purity before processing begins.
STEP 2
Anode Casting
Feedstock is melted and cast into precision anodes. Anode composition is carefully controlled to optimize electrolytic efficiency and minimize circulating impurity loads in the refining cells.
STEP 3
Moebius Electrolytic Refining
Anodes are suspended in silver nitrate electrolyte within our Moebius cells. Precisely controlled DC current drives silver ions to deposit as ultra-pure crystals on the cathode, while impurities accumulate as anode slimes for separate recovery.
STAGE 2 — 5N & 6N ONLY: HORIZONTAL ZONE REFINING
Zone refining — first developed by William Pfann at Bell Labs in 1955 — exploits the difference in impurity solubility between the solid and liquid phases of silver. A narrow molten zone, created by an induction heating coil, is passed slowly along a silver ingot. Because the segregation coefficient (k) for most metallic impurities in silver is less than 1, impurities preferentially remain in the liquid phase and are swept to the end of the ingot with each pass. Repeated passes drive total impurity content below the 10 ppm threshold required for 5N, and below 1 ppm for 6N.
STEP 4
Ingot Preparation & Loading
4N silver from the Moebius cells is melted and cast into precision cylindrical ingots under inert argon atmosphere. Ingots are loaded into high-purity quartz or graphite boats and placed in the horizontal zone refining furnace. The furnace chamber is evacuated and back-filled with ultra-high purity argon to prevent oxidation and atmospheric contamination throughout the process.
STEP 5
Multi-Pass Zone Refining
An induction heating coil creates a narrow molten zone (typically 2–5 cm wide) that traverses the ingot at a precisely controlled rate of 1–5 cm/hour. As the zone moves, impurities with segregation coefficients less than 1 — including copper, lead, bismuth, tellurium, and most transition metals — concentrate in the liquid phase and are transported toward the trailing end of the ingot. For 5N grade, 8–12 passes are performed. Achieving 6N requires 20 or more passes, with each pass reducing total metallic impurities by approximately one order of magnitude.
STEP 6
Impurity End Removal & Re-Casting
After the final pass, the impurity-rich trailing section (typically 10–15% of ingot length) is cut away and recycled back into the Moebius feedstock stream. The purified zone — now at 5N or 6N grade — is re-melted under argon and cast into the customer’s specified product form. All cutting, handling, and casting operations are performed in a Class 100 (ISO 5) clean room to prevent recontamination.
STEP 7
5N/6N Analytical Verification
Zone-refined silver undergoes a dedicated multi-instrument analytical protocol: GDMS (Glow Discharge Mass Spectrometry) for solid-state trace analysis at sub-ppb detection limits, followed by ICP-MS dissolution analysis for cross-validation. A minimum of 72 elements are quantified. Results must satisfy SMRG’s internal acceptance criteria — stricter than the published grade specification — before a Certificate of Analysis is issued.
STEP 8
Final Form Processing & Clean-Room Packaging
At SMRG, quality is not a department — it is the foundation of every operational decision. Achieving 5N and 6N purity requires not only advanced refining processes but an equally advanced analytical infrastructure capable of detecting and quantifying impurities at the parts-per-billion and parts-per-trillion level. Our multi-instrument verification protocol provides absolute certainty about the purity of every product we ship.
ELECTROLYTIC SILVER CRYSTAL FORMATION
Ultra-pure silver dendrites forming on the cathode surface during Moebius electrolytic refining. The characteristic tree-like crystal structure is a hallmark of high-purity electrodeposition, indicating that impurities have been effectively excluded from the silver lattice.
INDUSTRIES SERVED
WHERE PURITY IS NON-NEGOTIABLE
SMRG silver is the material of choice for four of America’s most strategically vital industries. In each sector, the performance of silver directly determines the reliability, safety, and capability of systems that protect and power the nation.
ADVANCED ELECTRONICS
THE CONDUCTOR AT THE HEART OF EVERY CIRCUIT
Silver holds the highest electrical conductivity of any element — 106% IACS (International Annealed Copper Standard) — and the highest thermal conductivity at 429 W/m·K. These properties are not merely incremental improvements over alternatives; they represent a fundamental physical advantage that no other material can replicate.
In advanced electronics, SMRG 4N and 5N silver is used in conductive pastes for printed circuit boards, multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) electrodes, membrane switches, and semiconductor packaging. As device geometries shrink and power densities increase, the purity of silver used in these applications becomes increasingly critical — even trace impurities at the parts-per-million level can cause electromigration failures or degrade signal integrity.
- PCB Conductive Pastes
- Semiconductor Packaging
- RF Connectors
- MLCC Electrodes
- Membrane Switches
- Solar Cell Metallization
NUCLEAR ENERGY
CONTROLLING THE POWER OF THE ATOM
Silver is a foundational material in nuclear reactor safety systems. The standard control rod alloy for pressurized water reactors (PWRs) — the most common reactor type in the United States — is composed of 80% silver, 15% indium, and 5% cadmium (Ag-In-Cd). This alloy’s neutron absorption cross-section, thermal stability, and mechanical properties make it irreplaceable in reactor control.
The purity of the silver component in these alloys is not merely a quality preference — it is a nuclear safety requirement. Impurities in control rod silver can alter neutron absorption characteristics, compromise alloy homogeneity, and introduce unpredictable behavior under irradiation. SMRG 5N silver provides the purity margin required by nuclear regulators and reactor designers alike.
- PWR Control Rod Alloys (Ag-In-Cd)
- Nuclear-Grade Brazing
- Spent Fuel Monitoring
- Reactor Instrumentation
- Shielding Components
- Advanced Reactor Systems
SPACE & SATELLITE
PERFORMING WHERE THERE IS NO SECOND CHANCE
Space is the most unforgiving operating environment in human experience. Components must perform flawlessly across temperature extremes from -270°C to +300°C, withstand intense radiation, and function without maintenance for decades. In this environment, the purity of every material is a survival factor.
SMRG 6N silver is specified for space-grade electrical connectors, solar array contact metallization, silver-plated RF waveguides, and sintered silver thermal interface materials. The near-zero impurity content of 6N silver ensures predictable, stable performance throughout a satellite’s operational lifetime — often 15 to 20 years in geostationary orbit — where any degradation in electrical or thermal performance can result in mission loss.
- Space-Grade Connectors
- RF Waveguides & Coax
- Satellite Bus Electronics
- Solar Array Metallization
- Thermal Interface Materials
- Deep Space Probe Components
DEFENSE & MILITARY
SECURING AMERICA'S TECHNOLOGICAL EDGE
Modern military capability is inseparable from electronics performance. Every advanced weapons system, communications platform, radar array, and guidance system depends on materials that perform reliably under battlefield conditions — extreme temperatures, shock, vibration, electromagnetic interference, and radiation. Silver’s combination of conductivity, corrosion resistance, and thermal stability makes it indispensable across the defense electronics supply chain.
SMRG’s ITAR-compliant operations ensure that our high-purity silver remains within the domestic defense industrial base. As a U.S.-based refiner, SMRG provides the supply chain security that foreign-sourced materials cannot — eliminating the geopolitical risk inherent in depending on adversary nations for critical defense materials.
- Radar & EW Systems
- Secure Communications
- Military Connector Plating
- Guided Munitions Electronics
- Radiation-Hardened ICs
- Hypersonic Vehicle Systems
QUALITY ASSURANCE
VERIFIED TO THE PARTS-PER-BILLION
At SMRG, quality is not a department — it is the foundation of every operational decision. Our analytical capabilities and quality management systems are designed to provide absolute certainty about the purity of every product we ship.
PURITY SPECIFICATION COMPARISON
ICP-MS
Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry - 4N / 5N / 6N
Primary dissolution-based analytical method for all three purity grades. Silver is dissolved in ultra-pure nitric acid and introduced into an argon plasma at ~8,000 K, ionizing trace elements for mass-spectrometric separation. Detection limits reach 0.01–0.1 ppb (10–100 ppt) for most elements. For 5N verification, ICP-MS quantifies all impurities against a 10 ppm total threshold. For 6N, the instrument operates in high-resolution or triple-quadrupole mode to resolve spectral interferences and confirm total impurities below 1 ppm across a minimum of 72 elements.
GDMS
Glow Discharge Mass Spectrometry - 5N / 6N - PRIMARY
The industry gold standard for direct solid-state ultra-trace analysis of high-purity metals. A glow discharge plasma sputters atoms directly from the silver solid surface, eliminating dissolution-related contamination risks. GDMS achieves detection limits of 0.001–0.01 ppb (1–10 ppt) for most metallic elements — two orders of magnitude more sensitive than conventional ICP-MS. For 6N silver, GDMS is the definitive verification instrument: it simultaneously quantifies over 70 elements in a single analysis, providing a complete impurity fingerprint of the zone-refined ingot. Results are traceable to NIST Standard Reference Materials. Every 5N and 6N Certificate of Analysis includes the full GDMS elemental report.
ICP-OES
Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry - 4N / 5N
Complementary optical emission technique used for rapid multi-element screening and cross-validation of ICP-MS results. ICP-OES provides excellent precision for elements at the 0.1–10 ppm range, making it the preferred tool for 4N final release testing and as a secondary check on 5N material. Its simultaneous multi-element capability allows full screening of a dissolved silver sample in under three minutes, supporting high-throughput in-process quality control.
XRF
X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry - ALL GRADES (SCREENING)
Non-destructive, real-time surface analysis used at incoming feedstock inspection and as a rapid in-process check throughout the Moebius refining stage. XRF provides immediate composition data without sample preparation, enabling rapid lot acceptance decisions and process monitoring. While not sensitive enough to certify 5N or 6N purity independently, XRF plays a critical role in feedstock qualification and in flagging anomalous batches before they enter the zone refining furnace.
CERTIFICATIONS & COMPLIANCE
ISO 9001:2015
Quality Management System
ITAR Registered
Defense Trade Compliance
NRC Licensed
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
DFARS Compliant
Defense Federal Acquisition
PURITY SPECIFICATION COMPARISON
Maximum allowable impurity levels (ppm total)
OUR PEOPLE
LEADERSHIP & ADVISORY BOARD
SMRG is led by a team of experienced professionals with deep expertise in precious metals refining, defense procurement, nuclear materials, and advanced manufacturing.
EXECUTIVE TEAM
Executive Name
Chief Executive Officer
Biography and background to be provided.
Executive Name
Chief Operating Officer
Biography and background to be provided.
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Chief Technology Officer
Biography and background to be provided.
Executive Name
VP, Business Development
Biography and background to be provided.
Executive Name
VP, Quality & Compliance
Biography and background to be provided.
Executive Name
VP, Government Relations
Biography and background to be provided.
ADVISORY BOARD
Advisor Name
VP, Business Development
Semiconductor Manufacturing
Advisor Name
VP, Quality & Compliance
Federal Policy & National Security
Advisor Name
VP, Government Relations
Supply Chain & Logistics
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VP, Government Relations
Finance & Capital Markets
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VP, Business Development
Semiconductor Manufacturing
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VP, Quality & Compliance
Federal Policy & National Security
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VP, Government Relations
Supply Chain & Logistics
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VP, Government Relations
Finance & Capital Markets
THE SMRG ADVANTAGE
WHY AMERICA'S CRITICAL INDUSTRIES CHOOSE SMRG
EXECUTIVE TEAM
Sovereign Supply Chain
100% domestic production eliminates geopolitical risk. SMRG silver never passes through adversary-nation supply chains, providing the supply chain security that national defense demands.
Certified Purity
Every batch ships with a comprehensive Certificate of Analysis verified by ICP-MS. Our analytical results are traceable to NIST standards and independently auditable.
Nuclear-Grade Capability
Our NRC-licensed facility and 5N/6N production capability meet the most stringent requirements of the nuclear energy sector — a standard that validates our quality for all industries.
Eastern Tennessee Heritage
Located in the heart of America's advanced manufacturing corridor, adjacent to Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the region's deep nuclear and defense research ecosystem.
Application Engineering
Our technical team works directly with customers to specify the right purity grade, product form, and packaging for each application — ensuring optimal performance and value.
ITAR Compliance
Full ITAR registration and compliance infrastructure supports defense contractor customers. Our security protocols meet the requirements of classified and sensitive programs.
GET IN TOUCH
PARTNER WITH SMRG
Whether you require a standard product specification or a custom purity and form factor for a specialized application, our team is ready to discuss your requirements. SMRG works directly with procurement officers, materials engineers, and program managers to ensure that our silver meets your exact needs.
Eastern Tennessee, United States
(000) 000-0000
ITAR NOTICE
SMRG products and technical data may be subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). Export, re-export, or transfer of SMRG products or technical information to foreign persons or entities requires prior U.S. Government authorization.