The paperwork a serious buyer will ask for

Producers sometimes ask why we need so much paper when another buyer will pay cash on the spot. The answer is that the paper is what makes the metal saleable in London. Without it, gold is worth what a local intermediary will pay. With it, the metal is priced against the world benchmark.

Before the sale

• The seller's mining, dealer or export licence, valid and in the seller's name.
• Identity and beneficial-ownership documents for the company and its principals.
• Site information for the licence area or cooperative the metal came from.
• Sanctions and adverse-media screening, kept by the buyer.

At the point of sale

• A weighing record signed by both parties.
• An assay certificate from an accredited laboratory, with the split-sample record.
• A purchase invoice that names the pricing formula and the benchmark date.
• Proof of payment that matches the invoice.

For export

• An export permit from the mining authority, such as the Directorate of Geological Survey and Mines in Uganda or the Ministry of Mining in Kenya, or CEEC valuation in the DRC.
• A royalty receipt.
• A certificate of origin from the competent authority.
• An ICGLR regional certificate where the exporting country requires one.
• A customs export declaration and packing list.
• The insurance certificate and air waybill.

At the refinery

The refinery will ask for all of the above plus the buyer's own know-your-customer and due-diligence records. Accredited refineries are audited every year on exactly this and will not accept metal whose provenance cannot be shown. The file is the metal's passport.