Perth Mint sold diluted gold to China, got caught, and tried to cover it up

abc via msn ^ | 3/6/23 | Story by By Angus Grigg, Ali Russell, Stephanie Zillm

[RomanSoldier19]

he historic Perth Mint is facing a potential $9 billion recall of gold bars after selling diluted or "doped" bullion to China and then covering it up, according to a leaked internal report.

Four Corners has uncovered documents charting the WA government-owned mint's decision to begin "doping" its gold in 2018, and then how it withheld evidence from its largest client in an effort to protect its reputation.

While the gold remained above broader industry standards, the report estimated up to 100 tonnes of gold sent to Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) potentially did not comply with Shanghai's strict purity standards for silver content.

One Perth Mint insider, who asked not to be named as they could face five years' jail if their identity is revealed, says it is a "scandal of the highest level".

"I don't know if I've ever seen one this big," they say.

[RomanSoldier19]

[BenLurkin]

so if their product says .9999 it isn’t really .9999?

[Red Badger]

Dumbasses! Did the think Shanghai wouldn’t test the gold?..................

[Theoria]

Wow, what a great way to destroy your reputation and business, if true.

[ComputerGuy]

I’ve got lots of Ag from that mint. Only one Au Nugget.

[Leaning Right]

That’s nothing. I recently shelled out thousands of dollars to buy some gold coins, and it turned out that the coins weren’t solid gold after all! But on the plus side, the chocolate was good.

[ComputerGuy]

Forgot to say this is NOT good.

[Red Badger]

They sold 99.89 per cent purity..................

[BenLurkin]

It’s a shame, because they make the best most attractive Lunar coins, IMO.

[Jonty30]

Most CEO’s only care about the company until.they can cash out their shares. Once dine, they are gone.

[Honest Nigerian]

10% for you-know-who

[Vision]

China responded back, are you crazy, you’re trying to out cheat China?

[El Cid]

I don't understand the article.
It states that there is a gold bar recall, but later in the article it states that the gold "remained over higher purity standards" .... Isn't that a good thing? But then it states that the bars did not comply with Shanghai's strict silver content ...
Does this mean that, 'yes, the bars are 99.99 (or whatever number of nines)% gold, but less than 0.001% silver?
I think I must be misreading something.

[farmguy]

It’s hard for china to encapsulate tungsten in less than pure gold and make their bars look authentic.

[ComputerGuy]

I’ll bet China keeps the gold and accepts another form of payment. I can’t see them letting that much gold out of the country. They are the world’s biggest hoarders.

[Yo-Yo]

so if their product says .9999 it isn’t really .9999?

It was .9999 pure.

The bar's purity test, known as an "assay", had failed to meet SGE's strict standards for silver, but was still above the crucial 99.99 per cent purity.

But it wasn't just one bad batch, it meant most of the gold bars during the three-year doping program were potentially non-compliant with Shanghai standards.

From what I can find, Shanghai Gold Exchange .9999 gold can only have up to .00005 silver, which Perth Mint's bars exceeded.

https://en.sge.com.cn/upload/file/202001/17/SzezpDJeHMoSlnON.pdf

See chart at paragraph 4.3.1

[rellic]

I live in rural Hawaii. PMs are useless here. We deal in tangible useful things here. A Gold Eagle is only worth $50,
not what someone in NY city is willing to pay for it.
The horse in my corral is worth far more than a gold coin.
Besides if SHTF I can eat the horse, I can’t eat the coin.

[wny]

I will buy all the 1-oz eagles you have for $50 each

[Gunslingr3]

A Gold Eagle is only worth $50, not what someone in NY city is willing to pay for it.

How many can I buy at that price?

I suspect it's zero because you made that up.

[NautiNurse]

I suspect it's zero because you made that up.

LOL!