Gold
Gold (chemical symbol ‘Au’) is a transition metal that often occurs in its natural elemental form as a nugget or grain in veins of rock or alluvial deposits. It commonly occurs in a solid solution with silver and is also found to be naturally alloyed with other metals such as copper or palladium. According to the World Gold Council, around 187,200 tonnes of gold have been mined since the start of civilisation and world consumption is divided between its industrial applications, as an investment asset and as jewellery. Once used to underpin monetary systems (the ‘gold standard’), gold appeals to investors because it has an intrinsic value, as a tangible asset and usually, its price rallies during periods of economic uncertainty.
In the European Union, the minimum purity for gold bullion, which is treated as investment gold for taxation purposes, is 99.5% for gold bullion bars (also known as ‘995 fineness’) and 90% for bullion coins. All bullion bars are traceable to the title holder by recognisable hallmarks and palletised bar-coding, to name just two methods.
GOLD Bullion
The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) is the over-the-counter market that both sets the wholesale spot price (twice daily) and specifies standards, such as ‘London Good Delivery’ for uniformity of deliverables in the trading of gold that is treated as a Class M1 (cash) asset.
The minimum acceptable fineness of the LBMA’s definition of ‘Good Delivery Bars’ (GLD) is 99.5% and bullion typically comes in standardized ingot size of 250mm x 70mm x 35mm. Typically, bars bear internationally recognised hallmarks and additional security measures such as barcodes form part of the documentation checks when proving provenance and authenticity of supply. Contrary to the popular industry myth that bullion can be ‘DNA tested’ to prove its country of origin, once refined to bullion standards there are no associated metals present that could determine from where it came.
ICT has a number of qualified (vetted) sellers of vaulted and documented GLD standard Au bullion and maintains relationships with a number of reputable and established refineries worldwide, including Switzerland, Dubai, USA and China. We are mandated buyers for several major clients and also support a number of the standard purchase procedures and, where we act on behalf of our clients, ICT has stringent protocols in place to qualify buyers or sellers, then matchmake the best fit for both parties.
GOLD DORÉ
Doré bar is a semi-pure alloy of gold (Au) and silver, with which gold is often alloyed in its natural state. The ratios of gold to silver can vary widely and depend on the geological conditions that existed in the country of origin when the elements were formed. Doré is simply the French word meaning ‘golden’ or ‘gilded.’
Doré can come in many forms, typically dust or nuggets that have been formed from dust using simple acetylene torches, at the mine site from which it was extracted. In more sophisticated operations, small furnaces may be used to smelt out the majority of impurities and pour the gold into preformed ingots, weighing anything from 1kg - 25kg.
Due to its intrinsic value, the marketplace for doré bars is littered with and has been tainted by scams and fake offerings worldwide - the most common of which involve some form of advance fee scam, in which potential buyers are seduced by illogically large discounts, the lure of huge profits and recycled ‘evidence’ (photo or video) that serves as Proof of Product. The majority of these scams can be dismissed with a simple background check on the supplier, cross-referencing alleged licenses and permits with the relevant local authorities
ICT has a number of qualified producers of doré bar in South American and African countries, which we have vetted by physically visiting the mine sites and conducting on-the-ground due diligence. Our internal procedures, security protocols and logistical/transactional insurances all mean that we can offer doré bar product in varying quantities and under our own export licenses, with complete confidence.