ITRO Itronics Inc (CE)

Silver prices have been climbing as a result of growing demand in the marketplace and for Reno-based green silver refiner, Itronics, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: ITRO), the launch of its phase one expansion couldn't be more timely.

Itronics announced Wednesday that its phase one silver refinery expansion was now in place and as a result, expected to both increase production capacity ten-fold while lowering per-smelt costs as much as 90%. The numbers alone would make Itronics' silver refinery the most cost-effective in the nation, yet as its silver is primarily produced through recovery of heavy metals from its photochemical processing plant which manufactures a host of environmentally friendly liquid fertilizers sold under the company's GOLD'n GRO brand, new sources of raw material have been identified to expand production.

While green silver, which is manufactured through a recycling process typically involving scrap silver, is growing in demand, few refineries exist that specialize in it. Yet there is a growing number of purists who would prefer to purchase silver manufactured through recovery processes involving an extraction of silver and other metals from waste materials, which would be considered a true "green silver" product.

Itronics saw silver prices averaging more than $17.50 per ounce in the last period and with prices now edging higher it could see averages increase by 3 to 6% or more in the fourth quarter.

"We see continued strengthening in the price of silver," said Itronics founder, Dr. John Whitney. "To be able to recover more of this valuable commodity more efficiently is very important for our future."

Yet as the company has just now placed its phase one expansion into operation, most likely itronics will not reflect a noticeable increase until the second half of next year. Capital constraints have kept the company from moving forward at a faster pace, though a recent reverse split of Itronics' shares were completed in preparation for financing. But despite capital, Itronics has managed to grow throughout the recession, albeit at a slower pace than it would like to.

In a rare forecast of Itronics' silver sales, the company outlined in a mid-July announcement (http://itronics.com/071410.shtml) that silver sales would increase to $4 million through the phase one expansion and when phase two of the silver refinery expansion was incorporated, sales would climb to over $40 million.

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