Responsible Sourcing Newsletter: LBMA Deepens International Bullion Centre Engagement
Thu Mar 05 2026
During the African Mining Indaba in February, the LBMA delegation, consisting of Ruth Crowell (CEO), Nirali Shah (Sustainability & Responsible Sourcing Director) and Neil Harby (Chief Technical Officer), met with regulators and industry partners from key African producer countries to discuss ways to collaborate and nurture better supply chain governance and partnerships with the London market.
The meeting followed similar conventions as with UAE-based colleagues during the official relaunch of the International Bullion Centre (IBC) initiative at the Dubai Precious Metals Conference last November. As gold trades consistently above $5,000/oz, and global supply chain vulnerabilities are increasingly exploited, there is a growing imperative for LBMA to facilitate constructive and concrete dialogue that strengthens and harmonises responsible sourcing standards and transparency across key bullion centres.
As LBMA’s Nirali Shah recently told Creamer Media: “Recent events, including the conflict in Sudan, highlight this reality starkly. Sudan’s crisis has accelerated illicit gold extraction and smuggling routes, deepened humanitarian suffering and created new incentives for armed actors to capture or exploit gold resources."
Over the course of 2026, LBMA’s IBC engagement will prioritise UAE, India, Turkey, and South Africa, as well as emerging African Bullion Centres such as Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, and Uganda. This engagement will be multifaceted and build on other key strategic priorities such as LBMA’s ASM Taskforce initiative. The February announcement by Rand Refinery to partner with Gold Coast Refinery in Ghana to provide technical, operational and commercial supervision is a good example of how GDL Refiners can mentor newer market players in understanding and implementing credible due diligence requirements. In addition to boosting the credibility and reputation of non-GDLs, such partnerships provide a pathway for more ASM gold to enter the legal market.
Most of the outreach will occur at or on the sidelines of industry events such as Indaba (February), the OECD Forum in Turkey (May), and the India Gold Conference (August). Meetings are also planned for the LBMA/WGC Sustainability & Responsible Sourcing Summit in June (see below) and LBMA welcomes the inclusion of gold on the agenda at the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Illicit Finance Summit (also taking place in London in June).
Continuous Improvement: Keeping the Responsible Gold Guidance Fit for Purpose
One certainty of the responsible sourcing world is that the terrain around us continually shifts as sourcing challenges and stakeholder expectations evolve. In the coming weeks, our team will begin drafting version 10 of the Responsible Gold Guidance (RGG10). RGG9, saw several new requirements introduced. However, RGG10 will focus on clarifying certain definitions and due diligence and reporting expectations by GDLs. This includes, for example, integrating and aligning requirements outlined in the ASM Toolkit, updating recycled gold definitions and origin of material, and providing further guidance on ESG due diligence requirements for primary sources.
The new version will also refine expectations around 'OECD-aligned' audits of intermediate refiners located in high risk jurisdictions, by specifying which industry schemes we consider aligned and what oversight steps Refiners must take with respect to those assurances. New risk-based due diligence requirements are also under consideration for recycled material and traders supplying GDL Refiners. A first draft for public consultation is expected to be published in the summer. We are pleased to announce that registration is now open for the Sustainability & Responsible Sourcing Summit 2026, taking place from Wednesday, 17 to Friday, 19 June at the Hilton London Tower Bridge.
Jointly hosted by LBMA and the World Gold Council, this event aims to promote engagement on the many challenges facing the global precious metals industry regarding sustainability and responsible sourcing — and to help pave the way for collaborative action. LBMA encourages everyone who plays a role in the gold value chain — industry actors, financiers, civil society, industry schemes, and assurance providers — to attend.
More information on our programme and speakers will be released in due course, so stay up to date via the LBMA website and by subscribing to our Events mailing list.
Source: https://www.lbma.org.uk/