Why the fuk are premiums on precious metals still so high?

It's been over a year since silver premiums went through the roof and they still aren't declining.

There's not a single publicly traded mint.

How hard is it to take delivery of some bars, break them into 10 even size pieces, and sell them for spot plus a reasonable premium (not this $2.30/oz crap)?

I'm starting to think they are a cartel.