2019 Global Precious Metals Conference

BullionProtect® anti-counterfeiting solution safeguards bullion market integrity.

BullionProtect®

A 12.5 kilogramme gold bar, worth an estimated USD 500,000, and featuring the BullionProtect® anti-counterfeiting solution, took pride of place at this year’s Global Precious Metals Conference.  Organised by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), the world’s authority and standard-setting organisation for precious metals, in collaboration with the Shanghai Gold Exchange, the event took place in Shenzhen, China from 13-15 October.

 

“It was a great opportunity to attend the Global Precious Metals Conference, the yearly gathering of stakeholders in the gold industry,” said Andreas Mueller, Sales Director for SICPA. “After recent reports about fake and counterfeit gold bullion in the media, it’s reassuring to know that gold producers and the gold industry as a whole are implementing measures to combat the problem.”

 

SICPA, together with Metalor Technologies – an international Swiss company renowned as a leading supplier of precious metals and advanced materials, first released BullionProtect® last 29 October during the 2018 LBMA Precious Metals Conference held in Boston, USA. The annual meeting attracts hundreds of delegates from scores of countries across the world, including the biggest names in the precious metals sector.

China’s vested interest

China has a vested interest in the gold market, as the world’s largest gold producer and importer, accounting for around 12% of total global production in 2018. While Reuters recently reported that most of the counterfeited gold bullion is believed to originate in China, the Shanghai Gold Exchange said it was not aware of counterfeit bars being made in or transported through China. Regardless of the origin of the counterfeit bars, it seems that measures to authenticate and protect gold are needed globally.