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I hope it's the first of many, says London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) CEO Ruth Crowell of the strategic gold partnership that South Africa's Rand Refinery has entered into with Ghana's Gold Coast Refinery.
In a major advance that enables local refining of artisanal and small-scale (ASM) gold and elevates West Africa's responsible sourcing standards to a new high, South Africa's Rand Refinery, as Africa's leading LBMA good delivery accredited refiner, will provide technical, operational and commercial supervision.
Rand Refinery has also exercised major leadership in the adoption of the gold bar integrity database that traces every ounce of gold from rock to bar.
LBMA is an independent precious metals authority that advances standards for the good of the global industry. Its mission is to ensure the highest levels of leadership, integrity and transparency for the global precious metals industry by advancing standards and developing market solutions.
In an interview with Crowell on day three of the Investing in African Mining Indaba, Mining Weekly put a series of questions to Crowell and these were her replies:
LBMA has 190 refining, mining, trading, vaulting, manufacturing and transportation member companies across 27 countries. From LBMA's perspective, what does this kind of African-to-African refining collaboration signal about the future shape of bullion markets on the continent?
Crowell: I'm delighted to see this announcement, and I hope it's the first of many. I think it is an excellent case study to demonstrate not just to other African nations but to the wider world how you can source responsibly from one of the most challenging sectors of the gold market, in terms of artisanal, small scale gold. I think the work by the government of Ghana has been excellent, but I think it's also Rand Refinery taking the view that we're not going to take everything. We need some due diligence. But we've also worked with them, with NGOs, with other governments, on creating a framework that's accepted to say these are the foundations you've got to have. It's got to be legal, it's got to be free of mercury. But it is about how we improve progressively and try to change the status quo, because boycotting is just a vote for the status quo. So, it's really exciting to see Rand Refinery taking this leadership move.
As new and emerging African refineries seek deeper integration into global markets, how important is alignment with LBMA standards in ensuring that partnerships like this translate into long-term credibility and international market access?
Well, I think it's not just LBMA standards, it's also global standards like the OECD. That's something that I think any centre, any refiner, trying to be ambitious and successful should adopt. The good news is you've got many years of examples to look at. I would also say, what's exciting about the Rand Refinery partnership in Ghana is also that Rand Refinery sees this as a Ghana story, and ultimately they agree with the ambition that they would like to see Ghana's Gold Coast Refinery apply to be an LBMA good delivery refiner.
Now, when we had the first good delivery finer in India, which wasn't that long ago, the way that was achieved was similar in terms of partnering with established players who can help you fast-track how you come up to speed, not just on the OECD guidelines on sourcing, but technical requirements, operational requirements, so being willing to learn something from people who have been doing it longer, but also being clear that they're wanting to have ownership themselves.
From LBMA's vantage point, what are the most important trends you're currently seeing in precious metals, both on the physical side and in financial demand?
It's hard ...

LBMA hopes Rand Refinery’s gold partnership with Ghana is 'first of many'

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