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Shanghai Gold Exchange denies 'doped' gold ... after Perth Mint admitted it
Is the exchange trying to unload the stuff already?
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Shanghai Gold Exchange Denies Report on 'Doped' Gold Bars from Australia
By Amy Lv and Dominique Patton
Reuters
Wednesday, March 8, 2023
BEIJING -- The Shanghai Gold Exchange today backed Perth Mint in denying that the Australian processor had sold it "doped" gold bars and said it could take action to protect its reputation.
"The relevant media failed to fulfill their responsibility to review the content, resulting in dissemination of inaccurate content on the Internet, causing serious damage to the reputation of the Shanghai Gold Exchange," the exchange said in a statement on its website.
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Perth Mint Chief Executive Admits 'Doping' Controversy Hurts Reputation
By Keane Bourke
Australian Broadcasting Corp., Sydney
Tuesday, March 7, 2023
The head of the Perth Mint has acknowledged issues around gold it supplied to China were "damaging and unacceptable," as the state's opposition calls for a royal commission into the government-owned organisation.
An investigation by the ABC's "Four Corners" revealed the Mint had supplied gold to China between 2018 and 2021 that met broader industry purity standards, but in at least one instance, fell below Shanghai's stricter standards.
An internal investigation into the "doping" program by the Mint estimated that up to 100 tonnes of sub-standard gold sold through Shanghai may have to be recalled and replaced -- which at today's prices is worth $8.7 billion.
Internal reports allege the Mint then withheld evidence about the practice from its largest client, which an insider described as "a scandal of the highest level."
While the issue came to light because of concerns about a small number of bars, the report raised the possibility that more batches could have been affected.
Gold doping is a somewhat accepted practice in the industry and is not illegal, but is high risk for refiners, as it lowers the quality of bullion by adding impurities like silver or copper.
Jason Waters, who was appointed chief executive in April last year -- after the doping program ended -- said the issue "hurts" and was "bad for our reputation."
"I'm incredibly proud of this business and what it's achieved in its history and so I want to see that repaired and get us back to the reputation that we should have that we've held for so long," he said.
"So there's no doubt that these issues are damaging and unacceptable."
The "Four Corners" investigation found the Mint's doping program began to unravel in September 2021, when the Shanghai Gold Exchange alleged two bars contained too much silver and did not meet its specifications.
Mr. Waters explained that during that period, gold produced by the Mint still met industry standards, which required the gold be 99.99% pure -- known as "four-nines gold" -- and that the value of the gold was unaffected.
He said the issues arose because the refining processes at the mint produced gold that was 99.996% pure, despite customers only paying for the 99.99% standard.
"The gold above that, in this case 0.006%, is known as giveaway. It's provided to the customer and it's not charged for," Mr Waters said.
"In this case, silver was added to bring that … [gold] component down from 99.996% to 99.992% ... but the addition of the silver meant that the silver component of the non-gold component exceeded the upper limit" set by the Shanghai Gold Exchange.
Mr. Waters acknowledged that was "a mistake" which he became aware of shortly after taking the helm in 2022, and that he discussed it with Minister Bill Johnston not long after. ...
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