Sustainability and Responsible Sourcing Report 2025

Chapter 7: Country of Origin Data for 2023

The Country of Origin (CoO) data presented in this report provides essential transparency on the origin, form, and volume of feedstock sourced by Good Delivery List (GDL) Refiners. It sheds light on the global movement of gold and silver, offering insights into where and how these materials are sourced and processed.

The rollout of the Gold Bar Integrity (GBI) platform, with 98% of GDL Refiners now onboarded, demonstrates broad industry endorsement of LBMA’s leadership in traceability and transparency, setting a new global benchmark.

This dataset supports the credibility of LBMA’s Responsible Sourcing Programme, allowing further scrutiny of a refiner’s supply chain and enabling a more robust quality control process on assurance deliverables. By detailing the geographical origins and processing methods of gold and silver, the CoO data helps maintain the integrity of the supply chain.

Overall, CoO data not only bolsters LBMA’s Responsible Sourcing Programme but also provides valuable insights into global trade patterns and sourcing practices among leading refiners.

METHODOLOGY

Data is collected from GDL Refiners through their annual Responsible Sourcing reporting. Each report must include a confidential annex detailing the origin of every kilogram of gold and silver and the type of process used (ASM, LSM, or Recycled). This data, subject to the third party assurance process, enables LBMA to create a matrix showing where gold and silver is produced and where it is refined.

Data is then standardised to ensure consistency in units, country codes, and conversion rates, then aggregated to protect confidentiality. Destination countries and regions are grouped as follows:

Countries with four or more refiners are listed individually.
Regions with only one refiner are grouped with the nearest geographical region.
Countries meeting the first criterion are excluded from regional groups to avoid double accounting.

Limitations to this data include:

Definition Variability: Categorisation of “Recycled” material may differ across sources, affecting comparability.
Data Inconsistencies: Data is assured to a limited level of assurance only which provides less confidence than a reasonable level of assurance on the accuracy and completeness of the data set.
Time Period: Data is based on financial year ends, which may differ from calendar years, complicating comparisons with other data sources.

Data Validation

Data is cross-checked against Refinery outputs and previous years’ data to identify discrepancies. The data is then reviewed by Metals Focus for independent review. This methodology aims to provide accurate and transparent reporting of CoO data, with ongoing efforts to address limitations and improve data reliability.

ARTISANAL AND SMALL-SCALE MINING (ASM)

The 2023 data for ASM gold shows a dynamic landscape with notable declines in some regions and emerging contributions from others. Established ASM gold origins like Brazil (-54%) and Mongolia (-45%) experienced significant reductions. Similarly, Ghana (-53%), Papua New Guinea (-68%) and United States of America (-18%) experienced reductions.

Traditional contributors such as Columbia remained stable, while Peru experienced moderate growth (17%). Overall, the total volume of ASM gold decreased by 14% from 51 tonnes to 44 tonnes, highlighting both challenges and potential for growth.

However, further significant change to note is China (-100%), while reporting ASM in 2021 (29 tonnes), 2022 (6 tonnes). Further investigation has shown that China as an origin of ASM gold is likely to have been misclassified in 2021 and 2022, and the trend of ASM gold should also be examined by removing the contributions from these years. This alternative view shows an increasing trend of ASM gold sourced by GDL Refiners.

ASM silver saw an increase of 21%, from 150 tonnes to 182 tonnes. This continued increasing trend of ASM silver highlights the role of ASM silver in global sourcing and transparent reporting alongside sustainable practices.

Significant growth is noted in Morocco, at 73 tonnes from 386 kilograms in 2022, and Nicaragua (53%), whereas established contributors such as Bolivia (-66%) and Mongolia (-19%) experience significant reductions. Peru (4%) and Turkey (5%) maintained stable sourcing.

These trends for both ASM gold and silver emphasise the importance of robust governance and support mechanisms to ensure sustainability, ethical practices, and increased sourcing within the ASM sector.

The LBMA ASM Initiative continues to endeavour to ensure that more responsibly sourced ASM material will be processed by GDL Refiners, increasing transparency and supply chain integrity.

TOP 3 COUNTRIES WITH HIGHEST ASM CONTRIBUTIONS

LARGE-SCALE MINING (LSM)

The 2023 data for LSM gold shows a 2% decline, from 1,863 tonnes in 2022 to 1,824 tonnes in 2023. Significant decreases were noted in Indonesia (-56%), Sweden (-47%) while other countries like China (66%), Mauritania (35%), and Zambia (41%) reported substantial growth. Established producers such as Mali (14%), Nicaragua (14%), Saudi Arabia (16%) showed steady increases.

LSM silver sourcing saw a decline of 16%, from 17,720 tonnes in 2022 to 14,839 tonnes in 2023. Traditional contributors such as Mongolia (618%), Papua New Guinea (45%), and Germany (337%) experienced significant growth, while Sweden (-83%), Morocco (-69%), and Kazakhstan (-45%) experienced significant reductions. Brazil (13%), Saudi Arabia (12%) South Africa (24%) and New Zealand (16%) experienced steady growth as continued origins.

New sourcing origins are noted from France (19 tonnes), Bosnia and Herzegovina (6 tonnes) and Taiwan (6 tonnes). While the overall decline in gold and silver LSM indicates some tightening, notable declines in regions are contrasted by strong sourcing from established gold origins such as China, and for silver the emergence of new contributors underscore the challenging but opportunistic landscape within the LSM sector.

RECYCLED MATERIAL DATA

This year marks the second time we have access to more granular data on recycled materials, providing a clearer and more detailed picture of the types of recycled material that GDL Refiners are sourcing.

Previously, recycled materials were grouped under a single category, but since 2024 we have replaced this with five new categories to better capture the nuances within the recycling landscape:

Unprocessed Recyclable Material: Metals in their original form or as fabrication scrap (e.g., bullion bars, jewellery, coins, or machine turnings) before being returned for processing and refining.
Melted Recyclable Material: Metals that have been melted down in the initial recycling process and cast into rudimentary bars or other forms with undefined dimensions and varying levels of purity.
Industrial By-products: Materials generated while processing a primary material that still holds value. In precious metals refining, this includes by-products such as furnace flue dust, spent crucibles, and floor sweepings.
Mixed Materials: Materials combining multiple sources, such as mined and recycled metals. This practice is uncommon and should raise red flags, necessitating rigorous due diligence according to the Responsible Gold Guidance (RGG).
Legacy Stocks: Precious metal investment products (e.g., ingots, bars, coins, and grains in sealed containers) held in vaults or by third parties before January 1, 2012. These do not require a determination of origin. Previously titled ‘Grandfathered Stocks.’

A comparison between the total of these categories and 2022 total recycled material reveals that sourcing of recycled gold has remained relatively stable, with a slight increase of 2%. The continued trend of maintained reporting of recycled gold can be attributed to the increasing gold price. Meanwhile, the sourcing of recycled silver has increased by 24%.

As we move into the second year of reporting with these five new categories, there are noticeable changes since 2022 that can be attributed to GDL Refiners aligning their reporting with these new categories more accurately.

By looking at the categories on a disaggregated level, the majority of recycled gold was sourced from unprocessed recyclable materials (12% increase from 2022) at 2,426 tonnes, followed by melted material at 758 tonnes (-26%), with industrial by-product accounting for 5% of the total recycled material at 183 tonnes (63%).

Countries such as China, Switzerland and Japan led contributions across multiple categories, with China a leading source of unprocessed materials (462 tonnes) and melted gold (230 tonnes). Switzerland contributed significantly unprocessed materials (574 tonnes), but less melted material at 63 tonnes (-83%). Japan followed closely as a leading source of unprocessed (263 tonnes), and industrial by-product (71,769). Legacy stocks, including older investment products that have been held prior to January 1, 2012, accounted for 78 tonnes, (35% increase from 2022) with major contributions from France (33 tonnes, 5% increase) and Switzerland (28 tonnes,139%)

The majority of recycled silver came from industrial by-product, amounting to 9,038 tonnes (84% increase from 2022), compared to unprocessed material at 7,052 tonnes (-8% decrease). Melted material follows by contributing 2,608 tonnes (-6%). This highlights a move from sourcing original silver forms or fabrication scrap such as jewellery and coins being returned for refining to industrial by-product silver produced during the processing of other primary materials as a main source of recycled silver. The Republic of Korea (1,988 tonnes) China (1,742 tonnes) Poland (1,418 tonnes) and Japan (1,081 tonnes) are major contributors within the industrial by-product category, Contributing to almost a third of the overall recycled silver total.

Similarly, China (1,552 tonnes), Hong Kong (1,283 tonnes) and Japan (1,150 tonnes) lead sourcing of unprocessed silver materials. Contrasting these sources are Vietnam (almost -100%) Mexico (-98%) and Malaysia (-93%) which experienced major reductions amongst other established origins of the category.

Legacy silver stocks totalled 183 tonnes, a 34% decrease from 2022, where the United Kingdom (62 tonnes), China (42 tonnes) and Taiwan (22%) are lead origins in this recycled category, compared to the previously established origin Kazakhstan (-87%).

The introduction of more granular data on recycled materials this year has provided valuable insights into the types of recycled precious metals sourced by GDL Refiners. By categorising recycled materials into Unprocessed, Melted, Industrial By-products, Mixed Materials, and Legacy Stocks, we continue to have a clearer understanding of the origins and types of recycled gold and silver entering the market. This new approach sets a foundation for more transparent and responsible management of recycled materials moving forward.

RESOURCES

Read the detailed analysis by Metals Focus, comparing LBMA's data with independent research. Explore the interactive charts and download the data on the LBMA website.

Chapter 6: Supporting ASM Progress

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