NTR and Ohio Precious Metals merge companies

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Capitalizing on booming demand for precious metals, two privately held companies have combined to establish the largest recycler of gold and silver in North America.

The merger of NTR Metals of Dallas and Ohio Precious Metals, of Jackson, Ohio, has formed a company that will produce about 10% of the world's recycled gold, according to Bill LeRoy, president of Ohio Precious Metals.

The combination highlights the growing activity within the so-called secondary market for precious metals. While little noticed, the market has ballooned amid rising metal prices and strong demand from investors.

NTR and Ohio Precious Metal collect scraps and jewelry from electronic manufacturers, dentists and pawn shops, smelter the materials to get the pure metals, and mint them into bullion or coins for banks and other buyers. The sector started to take off in recent years amid record metals prices.
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304587704577334190440848190.html

Oh snap! Those of you following along the physical inventory watch efforts may recall that it spawned from an initial observation when 100ozt silver bars were in scarce supply. For a while there, the only 100ozt bars of silver that tulving was selling were NTR and Ohio Precious Metals. I had not heard of them before and now the significance of them only having (had?) recycled metals bars for sale seems apparent.