Amidst the rise of gold prices in the last couple of years, the price has been above $1.500 for the longest time. Gold inched up 0.3% to trade near $1,800/oz. despite the extent of inflation and the weakening U.S dollar, the price of gold has remained comparatively stable. There are gold investors, traders, and spectaculars who are disappointed that gold did not go over $2,000 or soldiere past $3,000. Yet gold still had a great run so far and this has prompted a growth in the number of gold buyers these include bullion buyers, cash-for-gold buyers, and others. As the spotlight falls on gold, more people are looking into how gold is made and the role of their used gold in the value chain.
The processing of gold ores consists of three essential stages:
– Crushing
– Grinding
– Extraction
The gold that is turned into bullion coins, bullion bars, jewellery, and other gold products comes from special refineries. These refineries extract gold from mined gold ore and from recyclable gold items like used gold jewellery. This gold is then purified
The precious metals we make into bullion bars, bullion coins, and jewellery to buy, sell and cherish all come from special refineries. It’s at these refineries where the metals are extracted from the original mined materials and purified. These refineries use old and new methods of fire assaying combined with high-tech techniques to determine the quality of the metals produced and create the gold bars and gold coins we have come to know well and love.
There are many gold refineries around the world but not all of them have the same reputation and accreditation through the London Bullion Market’s Association’s (LBMA) Good Delivery List. Refineries are put through a rigorous process to determine their level of purity. The LBMA not only accredits gold but it also does the same to other precious metals like silver. There are currently 71 gold refiners that have been accredited or are on the Good Delivery List. Out of those, 7 refiners are regarded as the best in the world.
The majority of gold refineries that are on the Good Delivery List are located in Switzerland.
- PAMP and Valcambi – This is the largest refinery in Switzerland. It produces 1,600 tonnes of high-quality gold a year.
- Argor-Heraeus – This is the second-largest refinery in Switzerland and it coincidentally happens to be located just a kilometer away from PAMP Valcambi.
- Metalor Technologies – is located on the other side of the country.
- Heraeus is located in Germany
- Tanaka is the only Asian based refinery in the top 7 best gold refineries in the world
- Last but not least is, Rand Refinery based in South Africa
Despite their locations, these refineries process gold from everywhere in the world. They deal with gold mining houses and gold dealers including cash for gold buyers across the globe including the mail in gold buyers service. To demonstrate the international nature of these businesses, note that Valcambi is a Swiss Company owned by an Indian company called Rajesh Exports.
Perth Mint is based in Australia has held a spot on the Good Delivery list for years now. It might one of the seven golden refineries but it is a highly reputable company.
