March 9 (Reuters) - The London Bullion Market
Association (LBMA), the world's top accreditor of gold refiners,
said on Thursday it was reviewing allegations that Perth Mint
had sold "doped" gold to China.
An Australian media report on Monday said Perth Mint, the
world's largest processor of newly mined gold, may have to
recall a potential $9 billion worth of diluted or "doped" one-
kilogram gold bars sold to top consumer China.
The Australian gold refiner, a member of the LBMA, rejected
those allegations on Tuesday, saying there was no question about
the value and purity of gold bars it had sold to customers in
China, after it implemented new procedures following a 2021
review of its refining practices.
"Doping" or "alloying" is an industry wide accepted practice
to minimise the amount of pure gold above the 99.99% purity
level in each bar.
The LBMA said its incident review process (IRP) had been
invoked and "any incident or issues that may impact the
credibility of the Good Delivery List and the wholesale precious
metals market are treated very seriously."
The London bullion body said Perth Mint currently
remains on its 'Good Delivery List', which includes accredited
refiners whose bars meet its standards for global trade.
Addressing the review, Perth Mint said it was "constantly
identifying areas for improvement in the business, including
addressing historical practices," and described the industry
body as a long-term partner.
The Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) backed Perth Mint on
Wednesday in denying that the Australian processor had sold it
"doped" gold bars.
As per the association's IRP, if it finds that Perth
Mint failed to meet its standards, disciplinary action could
include "membership revocation, suspension subject to resolution
or being transferred to the Former List with immediate effect."
The LBMA did not commit to a timeline on the same.
(Reporting by Deep Vakil in Bengaluru
Editing by Marguerita Choy)
