Perth Mint, Australia’s official bullion foundry, is now facing a China Perth Mint is now facing a $9 billion recovery from China. Gold doping is the addition of silver or other impure ores to reduce the quality of gold in order to cut costs. According to reports, Perth Mint has begun diluting the gold it issues in 2018; a report picked up by ABC stated that staff at some refineries confirmed that more impurity ore had been added than the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) allows.
Allegations of gold dilution and concealment at the Perth Mint
The Perth Mint was the subject of areportthis week by Australian ABC News correspondents Angus Grigg, Ali Russell, Stephanie Zillman, and Meghna Balithat accused Australia’s official bullion mint of diluting or “doping” gold The report was the center of attention when it accused Australia’s official bullion foundries of diluting or “doping” their gold.
Journalists discovered a leaked internal report that said the mint faced a $9 billion recovery from China for alleged gold doping. The process keeps gold just shy of the 99.99% purity stage, but different ores such as copper and silver were reportedly added in 2018.
The government-owned Perth Mint was selling diluted gold to China. The Mint began doping its gold in 2018 as a “cost-cutting measure.” #Bitcoincannot be diluted. pic.twitter.com/nbbWMlK66f
– Call 🇿🇦 (@ColeAreTee) is March 7, 2023
Internal reports indicate that when 100 tons of gold bullion was delivered to SGE, the bullion did not meet Shanghai standards and higher levels of silver were identified. A Perth Mint insider, speaking to ABC on condition of anonymity, described the issue as a “scandal of the highest order.”
The doping was allegedly done to save $620,000 a year, but refinery insiders noted that some ore levels exceeded what the SGE would allow, despite attempts to stay within the 99.99% purity standard, the ABC report said. The scandal began to come to light in 2021, when SGE alleged that two gold bars were not up to standard.
“Based on an average understanding of the quantity … . it was possible to recover up to 100 tons of inventory from the Shanghai Gold Exchange for exchange,” explains an internal report discovered by ABC.
In addition, SGE’s exchange clients were allegedly silent on the doping issue, and Perth Mint’s internal report stated that if the clients went public with the issue, “the negative publicity could have a very significant impact on their business.”
The ABC report stated that Persmint had identified customer complaints about a small number of gold bars, improved its refining methods, and was now working on higher purity requirements.
The Perth Mint also issues gold-backed tokens.