In my business I have preferred clients. Some clients I take 2 or 3 weeks to get their work done and others when they call I get it done that day. For the big silver refineries like Penoles, the 1000 ounce bars they sell to industrial buyers like Kodak are easy to pour, and do not have to be exactly 1000 ounces like the 100 ounce bars need to be. They also know buyers like Kodak buy whether there is a recession or not, and that their checks do not bounce. Also, the board members of companies like Kodak and Dupont also sit on the boards of banks which in turn lend money to miners and refiners like Penoles.

Us little guys will never get in front of these big industrial users. China on the other hand is and will get in front. Since most silver comes from lead and zinc mines and the concentrates need to be smelted, China is processing more and more silver. Smelters cause a lot of pollution, so they are not cost competative in the west.