Page 33 - Bullion World Volume 3 Issue 3 March 2023

Bullion World | Volume 3 | Issue 3 | March 2023

PCR testing for gold LBMA implements

Besides artificial intelligence, Argor- optical AI technology
Heraeus has been working with PCR to trace gold bars’
tests since 2019 to increase the
traceability of gold. The DNA labeling provenance
technology used in this process comes
from the Swiss start-up Healixa. The London Bullion Market Association
(LBMA) announced that it has added
Argor-Heraeus marks raw gold bars at the mine with a DNA marker. Upon optical AI developer Alitheon to the
arrival at the refinery, these markers can be verified by PCR testing. Each mine pool of five companies that support the
has its own DNA marker, that is only accessible to the specific mine. Once the Gold Bar Integrity (GBI) initiative.
origin is confirmed, the bars are further processed in separate production lines.
This helps to avoid that gold of different origins is mixed within the refinery. By Alitheon is the only US-based company
means of these separate production processes, Argor-Heraeus ensures that the to be selected and its work will consist
products can be traced back to their source even after melting and that they of identifying, authenticating, and
comply with global regulations for the provenance of gold. tracing each individual bar, be it a small
minted bar or a large investment-grade
To make sure that the mined gold meets ethical and sustainability standards, cast bar.
Argor-Heraus follows a strict compliance management system based on
the pillars of corporate governance and social responsibility. This includes The American firm’s FeaturePrint
comprehensive audits of the mines and independent reviews of the due diligence technology will be put to use to ensure
process. provenance by irrefutably identifying
counterfeited and illegally-sourced
In addition, Argor-Heraeus uses the blockchain solution of the Swiss company precious metals throughout the supply
aXedras developed specifically for the precious metals industry. The blockchain chain.

enables digital storage of all relevant information along the life cycle of gold and
In a press release, Alitheon explained
provides an effective and secure exchange of data along the value chain. that FeaturePrint uses a standard off-
Source: https://www.heraeus.com the-shelf camera or mobile phone to
take an image of any object such as a
Tajikistan gold bar. Its machine vision algorithms
are then applied to identify and
announces convert various details of the object
into a unique digital fingerprint. This
discovery of 10 new digital fingerprint enables irrefutable

gold deposits identification, authentication, and
traceability, and mitigates the need
to add any sort of visible or invisible
10 new gold deposits were discovered on the territory of Tajikistan, head of markers, tags, or stickers to the bars.
the Main Department of Geology under the government of Tajikistan Ilhomjon
Oymuhammadzoda told journalists on February 1, Asia Plus reports. In addition to gold and precious metals,
the solution also works for identifying,
The deposits are located in central Tajikistan and in the Gorno-Badakhshan authenticating, tracking and tracing
Autonomous Region. Their reserves will be accurately determined only after a range of applications including
appropriate studies, he added. luxury goods, art and collectibles,
computer boards, automotive parts,
pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
In addition, 13 alluvial gold sites with a total length of 52.5 km were identified
in Muminabad and Shamsiddin Shokhin districts. “Companies and consumers are used
to having data at their fingertips. Now
The Ministry of Industry of Tajikistan reported that there are large reserves of they can be sure the gold bar or gold
gold in the republic. The gold assets of Tajikistan contain 137 deposits with product they are buying is authentic,
estimated reserves of industrial gold and 127 of non-industrial gold. ethically sourced, and legal, from a
The main gold miner in Tajikistan is the Tajik-Chinese joint venture Zarafshon, simple photo taken on their phone.”
which accounts for about 70% of the total volume of mined metal. Source: https://www.mining.com

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