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(Kitco News) - Perth Mint is off the hook with the London Bullion Market Association. The sovereign mint will remain on the Goods Delivery List after the LBMA ended its investigation into allegations that the mint's refining standards from 2018 to 2021 did not meet specifications set by Shanghai Gold Exchange.
After a month-long investigation, the LBMA said in a statement that it "did not find any instances of zero-tolerance non-conformance with the sovereign mint."
However, the LBMA added: "There are elements of The Perth Mint's management systems that are being strengthened through a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) to be audited by a third-party auditor."
The LBMA acknowledged that the quality of Perth Mint's gold was never in question. However, the metals association invoked its Incident Review Process in early March after allegations that during a three-year period the Perth Mint shipped diluted gold bars that were traded on China's gold exchange.
In early March the Australian Broadcasting Corporation published an article quoting internal government documents, highlighting looser refining standards that allowed for more impurities into its gold while still meeting the international purity standard of 99.99%.
Specifically, there was too much silver in the gold shipped to China to meet the strict standards set by the SGE. According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), the SGE highlighted two bars that were non-compliant in 2021. While the Perth Mint addressed the SGE's concerns regarding the two bars, they did not disclose the broader issue of its looser refining practices.
The Perth Mint tightened its refining process in December 2021 after SGE highlighted the two non-compliant bars.
In its latest statement, the Perth Mint said that it is committed to working through the plan laid out by the LBMA.
"The Perth Mint has embarked on a comprehensive, fully funded program to remediate our anti-money laundering processes and ensure best practice in everything that we do," said Perth Mint CEO Jason Waters in a prepared statement. "This aligns with our commitment to meet our obligations to the WA Government, the community, the gold mining sector and our customers around the world."
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