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Think it's easy to lift a 5.7 kilo gold bar? Gold Bar Challenge proves otherwise
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(Kitco News) -
$350,000 is a lot to handle, especially when it comes in the form of a 5.7-kilogram bar. Just ask a few lucky and dexterous Indian gold consumers.
This past year, MMTC-PAMP has traveled around India hosting their unique Gold Bar Challenge. In the challenge, a 5.7 kilo bar is placed in a glass box and participants have to lift and navigate the bar through a narrow hole in the glass.
The twelve winners who successfully extracted the heavy gold bar were awarded with MMTC-PAMP’s Banyan Tree 999.9 purity 10 gm silver bar featuring India’s national tree, symbolizing longevity and fulfillment.
The Gold Bar Challenge had already been held in Ghaziabad, Noida, Hyderabad, and Chennai previously, and after the success of Mumbai, Singh said the company plans to bring the event to more cities across India. “The gold bar challenge is a unique event that has rarely been witnessed in the Indian market and we are happy to announce that we will be bringing this event to the cities of Pune, Bangalore and Chandigarh as well in future,” said Vikas Singh, Managing Director and CEO of MMTC-PAMP, in comments to the media.
MMTC-PAMP is a joint venture between MMTC Ltd., India’s largest international trading company in the public sector, and PAMP Switzerland, the world’s largest privately owned precious metals processing facility. The company is India’s first and only London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) accredited Good Delivery Refinery for Gold and Silver, and maintains an LBMA Responsible Gold Compliance Certificate.
“MMTC-PAMP strives to serve our valuable customers with unique and distinctively crafted products in purest gold and silver,” said Singh. “We’ve now taken this a step further by adding fun and excitement for our customers by providing them with a new distinctive and engaging experience, with our Gold Bar Challenge event.”
“It is a testament to our unwavering efforts to add moments of joy for our customers who have always trusted us for their gold and silver needs.”
In early August, the World Gold Council (WGC) reported that gold purchases in India this year are forecast to drop to the lowest level since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the second-biggest consuming nation in 2020, with high domestic prices deterring buyers.
P.R. Somasundaram, the regional chief executive officer for India at the World Gold Council, said Indians are expected to buy between 650 and 750 tons of the precious metal in 2023. The range is lower than the 774 tons bought last year and is the smallest total since the 446 tons purchased in 2020, according to WGC data.
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