COMPANY PROFILE
2013
Rand Refinery
Responsible gold... ethically mined... purely refined.
CompANY PROFILE
Responsible gold... ethically mined... purely refined. Poised to launch into another 90 years of pioneering history, Rand Refinery has been at the forefront of precious metals refining and smelting for the last 93 years.
Evolving from a local refiner of doré to an internationally recognised and accredited global precious metals leader, Rand Refinery constantly pursues excellence and strives to maximise value across a wide range of valueadded products and services. “We put refinement into everything we do, constantly striving towards attaining flawless perfection. And in this process, we have moved to encompass the entire precious metals value-chain, offering more customers more products and services. We are a full service global player in a dynamic and ever-evolving world market”, says Chief Executive, Mr Howard Craig. Since 1920, the company has refined more than 50 000 tons of gold – almost one third of all the gold mined worldwide. Rand Refinery also refines silver to the same benchmark standards it has become known for over the
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nine decades of operation. During this time, the company has established a firm reputation for integrity, reliability and unblemished quality with the world’s leading bullion banks, commodities traders and coin distributors. The refinery, which is jointly owned by South African gold producers, AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., Gold Fields, DRDGold Ltd, Harmony Gold Mining Co. and Sibanye Gold Ltd has plenty of accolades to add to its profile, such as being accredited by various metal exchanges across the globe, being one of only five international LBMA referees, as well as being the only refinery of its kind in Africa. The company currently imports in excess of 200 tons of gold per annum, refining around 400 tons of gold per annum. This is not a new aspect of the business, having imported gold for further refining and processing for
Rand Refinery
Pouring molten metal from ladle
at least the past fifteen years. It should also be borne in mind that Rand Refinery does not source any metal deposits from conflict-affected areas, and adheres strictly to the OECD and LBMA guidelines in this regard.
Smelter The Rand Refinery smelting complex has the ability to process a wide range of low-grade precious-bearing waste materials, including by-products from the mining industry, electronic waste, carbon fines and sludges. We are able to serve customers worldwide and currently source materials from Africa, North, South and Central America, Australia and the Far East. A base metal treatment plant enables the smelter to process copper-gold bearing materials, and includes a facility to produce a barren lead product. The smelter is also certified by South Africa’s National
Nuclear Regulator to accept and treat materials with low radio-activity levels.
Refinery Intent on providing a same day refining service, we have continuously refined the art of refinement for over nine decades. Rand Refinery uses the Miller chlorination process to upgrade gold bullion to at least 99.5% pure gold, the minimum global standard. To achieve 99.99% purity for gold and silver, the oncethrough Wohlwill electrolytic refining process is used. With the introduction of wet chemical processes, Rand Refinery has the capability to process a variety of complex and diverse feedstock materials coming into our refinery. Value-added products The team at Rand Refinery is equally focused on continually refining their fabrication processes, turning the continues on 50... OCT 13 PAGE 3
Au 99.99
CompANY PROFILE
As
a measure of our commitment
The RandPure™ mark certifies that
to sourcing and producing only the
the precious metal is:
best certified responsible gold, we’ve
• Newly mined only – virgin African gold
introduced the RandPure™ mark.
doré (contains no secondary gold i.e. scrap or recycled);
An iconic symbol of pure refinement,
• Conflict free – warrantees conformance
guaranteeing the provenance, fineness,
to principles / standards / guidance from
exceptional quality and absolute Chain
WGC, USA Dodd-Frank Act, LBMA, RJC and OECD;
of Custody of the precious metal it
• Human Rights Abuse Free – no child
endorses. Our RandPure™ products
labour, forced labour or severe human
meet stringent craftsmanship criteria,
rights abuses;
making every RandPure™ item truly exclusive and exceptional.
• Crafted on-site at Rand Refinery – guarantees “traceability” and absolute Chain of Custody from “ore to store”.
Rand Refinery (Pty) Ltd, Refinery Road, Industries West, Germiston, 1401 | P.O. Box 565, Germiston, 1400, South Africa
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Rand Refinery
Exceptional quality and absolute Chain of Custody
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EXCEPTIONAL CRAFTMANSHIP
ABSOLUTE FINENESS
CONFLICT FREE
TRACEABLE VIRGIN GOLD
CONTRIBUTES TO DEVELOPMENT
™
A PRODUCT OF
Tel: +27 (0)11 418 9000 | Fax: +27 (0)11 418 9231 | Email: gold@gold.co.za | www.randrefinery.com
OCT 13 PAGE 5
CompANY PROFILE ... continued from 47 internationally desired refined gold and silver into innovative value-added products that truly represent pure refinement. Alliances In order to expand its current customer and supply base, Rand Refinery has formed some valuable alliances with leading companies during the past year. The establishment of a joint venture (JV) with the SA Mint is a formalisation of what the two companies have been doing for the past 46 years. According to Mr Craig, Rand Refinery will continue to manufacture and supply gold coin blanks, as well as sell and distribute the finished Krugerrand, after the SA Mint completed its minting. “The JV brings together two distinctly South African and globally recognised companies in Rand Refinery and the Reserve Bank’s wholly owned SA Mint, to market a very unique South African product globally, thereby bring the strengths of both parties together,” says Mr Craig. The parties had been producing the most widely held coin in the world since 1967. The Krugerrand is the world’s first ounce-denominated legal tender gold coin, named after historical South African President Paul Kruger and was developed by the Chamber of Mines of South Africa under authorisation of the South African Reserve Bank. The company has also formed an alliance with Dillon Gage in the USA recently to act as an exclusive distributor of its minted bars in the USA. The company will market and sell gold- and silver-minted bars in the country as part of Rand Refinery’s plan to expand its range of value-added products into global markets.
Singapore Rand Refinery has also recently established an assay and evaluation laboratory in Singapore with the main aim to grow secondary/scrap gold as feedstock for its refinery. This facility complements the trading office which was established in Singapore some two years ago, thereby allowing Rand refinery to offer a comprehensive service to its customers in East Asia. “As part of Rand Refinery’s continued expansion strategy, the company will continue to research the global markets in an effort to identify other international opportunities,” says Mr Craig.
Responsible gold Pure refinement. Pure gold. The emotional, as well as financial value of gold has been with us since the oldest of days. This value is what makes this sought-after metal such a remarkable entity across all the world. Despite the recent global concern about the diminishing value of gold, Rand Refinery envisages that gold will remain
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the only metal of its kind to depend on during the most difficult economic times. From the most ancient Egyptians to the most modern scientists, the story of gold continues to be as rich as the metal itself. A metal that has always appealed to man, especially in the manufacturing of jewellery and other investment products. For any refinery, refining gold responsibly is a massive challenge and a direct link to integrity for most. For ethically mined gold, responsible sourcing and production processes must clearly abide by ethical principles. To deal with the challenge of compliance and sourcing of gold from conflict-free areas, Mr Craig is proud to say that the company adheres to the Dodd-Frank Act and the due diligence guidelines of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). As part of its ongoing input towards this initiative, Rand Refinery is also represented on the Responsible Jewellery Council. The refinery sources from ethical mines in Africa and beyond. The company has embraced the “conflict-free” and “responsible” gold initiatives and has been actively involved in assisting the World Gold Council to develop its conflict-free gold standard, as well as the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) Responsible Gold guidelines. The conflict-free gold standard is supported by leading companies in the gold industry and was intended to prevent gold from being used to fund armed conflict. In general the gold sector is joining hands in this regard to ensure that all gold produced is not used to fund conflict or contribute to human rights abuses. Most of the major mining companies have agreed to cooperate with the standard in an effort to ensure integrity and credibility for the industry. “As part of this initiative, Rand Refinery has strengthened our already robust “Know Your Customer”-process and has introduced streaming of gold in our refining and fabrication operations so that we are able to separate and then track individual batches of gold throughout the process,” Craig says. Even when sourcing scrap metal we only deal with the large scrap collectors, whose background has been thoroughly checked. As a measure of Rand Refinery’s commitment to sourcing and producing only the best certified responsible gold, the company has introduced the RandPure™ mark. This is an iconic symbol that depicts pure refinement, guaranteeing the provenance, fineness, exceptional quality and absolute chain of custody of the precious metal it endorses. The RandPure™ products meet stringent craftsmanship criteria, making every RandPure™ item truly exclusive and exceptional. These products currently include wedding bands and minted bars.
Rand Refinery
The company has joined hands with Oro Africa recently, South Africa’s largest manufacturer and exporter of jewellery which uses ethically mined gold in all of its prodcuts. Each wedding band is crafted on-site at Rand Refinery, utilising RandPureTM certified responsible gold and features a unique gold batch number. To verify the authenticity and trace the origin of the gold, the wearer can simply use a smart mobile device to scan the QR-code. All Randpure™ gold is newly mined, completely untouched, and contains no scrap or recycled gold. Once the ore is extracted from the mine, it is sent to Rand Refinery where it is treated separately to ensure it does not get mixed with other gold. Once refined, it is sent to the manufacturing facility on-site where the jewellery is produced.
The Randpure™ mark certifies that the precious metal is: Newly mined only - virgin African gold doré (contains no secondary gold i.e. scrap or recycled);
Conflict-free - warrantees of conformance to principles/ standards / guidance from the World Gold Council, USA Dodd-Frank Act, LBMA, Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) and OECD; Human Rights Abuse Free - no child labour, forced labour or severe human rights abuses; Independently audited by Inspectorate; Crafted on-site at Rand Refinery - guarantees ‘traceability’ and absolute Chain of Custody from ‘ore to store’. “Although mining companies will continue to produce the precious metal and Rand Refinery will continue to assist with the refining processes, it is important to note that the “responsible” mining and production of this metal is not what will distinguish it from the rest. It is the untold stories of the large investments made by these mining companies and associated players in their local communities to improve on education, sanitation, agriculture and other local economic development projects that give this a worthy cause,” says Craig.
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A gold pour from the arc furnace OCT 13 PAGE 7
+27 11 418 9000 www.randrefinery.com
(0)1603 618 000 info@industrysa.com East Coast Promotions Ltd, Ferndale Business Centre, 1 Exeter Street. Norwich, Norfolk NR2 4QB