Following the close of Assaying & Refining Conference 2025, LBMA presents a summary of the key highlights from this informative event.
Day One - Monday, 17 March 2025
l-r: Ruth Crowell, Neil Harby, Daniela Manara, Hannah Coakley, Kim Esbensen
LBMA is using data to drive trust and transparency to ensure market robustness, outlined Ruth Crowell (CEO, LBMA) at the opening of the A&R Conference 2025 today. “With recent record gold prices and lease rates at an all-time high, headlines are salacious. We watched with interest how the market calmed once the latest vault holdings data was released, as it was clear and transparent what the real story – and numbers – were. It’s crucial that clients and investors can trust the integrity of the gold they’re trading. This is why our work on the Gold Bar Integrity (GBI) initiative is so critical,” said Ruth.
Ruth announced and congratulated Agosi AG and Gold Corporation - The Perth Mint, who have been selected to become Referees of the Good Delivery programme, bringing the total number of Referees to seven.
“LBMA Referees are at the heart of transparency and quality,” said Hannah Coakley (Physical & Technical Services Officer, LBMA). “The group is unique; it has competitors working together to strengthen the market. Without them, the market wouldn’t have the credibility and authority that it has today.” Neil Harby (Chief Technical Officer, LBMA) agreed: “The referees are so important in raising the bar within the precious metals industry.”
Kim Esbensen
Kim Esbensen (Senior Consultant & Professor, KHE Consulting) then treated delegates to his expert insights on unsubstantiated complacency regarding the ‘assay exchange’ paradigm, in his keynote speech. To be or not to be representative – that is the question!
Further sessions followed, covering sampling techniques, airborne particulates in the workplace, and an exploration into the importance of sample preparation. Attentions then turned to sustainability, as speakers covered the pathway to a sustainable future in refining. Fire assay was the focus for the final session of the day.
Day Two - Tuesday, 18 March 2025
Russ Calow
An overview of the future of geochemistry laboratories was in the spotlight on Day Two's keynote by Russ Calow (Calow Laboratory Consulting). Paradigm-shifting technology is changing the industry as we move into the mid-2020s, Russ said, as he looked back over the development of labs over the last 45 years. Russ’s keynote also explored what further developments such as AI will bring, and how the industry is at a significant inflection point.
Next, delegates were treated to a recount of the work done by Ann-Marie Carey (School of Jewellery at Birmingham City University) and her team on the reconstruction of the Staffordshire haul helmet, recovered from the largest collection of Anglo-Saxon gold (4kg) and silver (1.7kg) ever discovered in 2009, which they dated back to the seventh century.
Ann explained how the work saw digital methods and traditional fine metal skills combine to recreate the Staffordshire hoard helmet, using scans and computer aided design to understand the digital topography of each artefact which were used as reference material. This allowed the craftspeople to find a common language between disciplines and use their traditional skills to recreate the iconic artefact.
l-r: Mike Hinds, Neil Harby, Hannah Coakley, Vijayacittā Harvey, Ann-Marie Carey
The LBMA team including Vijayacittā Harvey, Neil Harby, Mike Hinds and Hannah Coakley talked about updates to the Good Delivery programme and weighing guidelines. Delegates found out more about recent updates to the LBMA Visual Guide, such as changes to the markings section to align with recent rule changes, for example prohibiting laser engraving.
Barbara Beck (Geoforensic LLC) and Alessia Sironi (Valcambi) compared two geological methods used in unravelling the origins of gold. Assaying and porosity were under the microscope next as Amanda Hefer (Rand Refinery Limited) explained how she’s been using phased array ultrasonic testing to identify the level of porosity in gold bars. Next, Gregor Gregersen (The Safe House SG Pte Ltd) talked through methods of reliable non-destructive testing of .99> purity metals using multiple complementary testing processes.
Jonathan Jodry
The rest of the afternoon saw an intensified focus on assaying, exploring factors affecting cupellation loss, a closer look at gold bullion fire assay, challenges using ICP-OES, and a technical and political look at recycled gold, for which Dr. Jonathan Jodry (Metalor Technologies SA) was voted 'best speaker'.
Find out more about LBMA's upcoming events, such as the Global Precious Metals Conference in Kyoto, via the LBMA Events page.