Precious metals storage
The Mint provides storage services for Royal Canadian Mint branded precious metals in our vaults. This service is not offered directly to individuals, but through business to business accounts with the Royal Canadian Mint.
Why store precious metals in our vaults?
The Royal Canadian Mint is a Crown Corporation of the Government of Canada. We are ISO-9001:2000 certified, and are regularly audited to ensure the transparency of our business. Our vaults are therefore an exceptionally secure facility. Our precious metal storage service is available through our selected dealers.
Internationally recognized Assay Laboratory
The ability to analyze gold accurately is central to the success of any gold refinery. The Mint's sampling and assaying practices are among the industry's most stringent, and our precious metals analytical labs rank among the world's best. The Royal Canadian Mint laboratory is an active participant in the process testing program conducted by the American Society for Testing and Materials. Their independent validation of our fire assay is integral to maintaining our leadership position.
Rigorous methodologies
An expert team of technical and scientific personnel is at the heart of our success. Their innovative approach is supported by state-of-the-art practices and methodologies, which address the complete range of precious metals, from low-grade material to 99999 fine gold.
Fire assay method
The accepted method for settlement assays on mine doré and similar materials, the fire assay is based on standard test method E-1335-96 of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Inherent in this approach is a proof correction to ensure the accuracy of the results as well as quality assurance measures, including twin and independent parallel analysis, control samples and a weight calibration program.
Spectrometric methods
These advanced techniques are used to analyze high-purity gold and to determine impurities in feed materials. They include flame atomic absorption, graphite furnace atomic absorption, spark ablation ICP atomic emission as well as x-ray fluorescence and laser-ablation ICP mass spectrometry.
Accuracy. Guaranteed.
The absolute accuracy of every analysis is validated and guaranteed through the Mint's rigorous sampling and analytical protocols, while a weight calibration program ensures all scales remain traceable to the international kilogram standard.
Where purity meets security
The Royal Canadian Mint operates one of the most technically advanced and respected gold and silver refineries in the world, producing bars, wafers and custom products. In operation since 1911, our refinery services are among the largest in the industry. The Mint refines gold and silver from a variety of sources including primary producers, industry, recyclers and financial institutions. Factors contributing to our success include:
- World-class quality
- An accredited ISO 9001 facility
- Streamlined operations, from reporting of assay results to delivery of refined materials
- Vault storage services for precious metals
- London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) good delivery gold bars
Purity
The Royal Canadian Mint began refining gold to 9999 fine purity in the mid-1960's. In 1982, our refinery became the worlds? first to produce 9999 bullion coins, an achievement surpassed in 1998 when we reached "five nines" purity levels. Today, we are even able to produce granulation gold that is 99999 fine.
Security
The rigour of our production standards is equalled by the stringency of our security protocols, which are implemented at every level of refinery operations. The refinery is a restricted environment controlled by security personnel supported by state-of-the-art surveillance technology.
Process
The Mint refines feed material to 995 fine through the Miller chlorination process. The gold is then cast into anodes which are purified to 9999 fine using the Wohlwill electrolytic process. Every gold bar and wafer is struck with the Royal Canadian Mint hallmark, an internationally recognized guarantee of weight and purity.
We also melt and cast 9999 and 995 gold into "good delivery bars" accepted by the New York (COMEX), London (LBMA - where we hold associate membership), and Tokyo (TOCOM) exchanges.
Purchasing Bullion | Bullion Products
Services
Why do business with the Royal Canadian Mint Refinery services?
- World-class quality
- Accredited ISO 9001 facility
- Streamlined operations, from reporting of assay results to delivery of refined materials
- Complete access to international markets, trading gold through transfers within our secure customer pool account system
- Comprehensive consulting services for clients who wish to develop or modernize existing refinery and assay operations
- Vault storage services for precious metals
Did you know?
We have produced more than 52 billion coins for dozens of countries. Our longest continuous contract for producing foreign coins is with Barbados – more than 30 years.
Worldwide change
The Mint has the capacity to produce over 2 billion circulation coins or blanks per year for foreign governments. The products we offer also include dies, die coatings, master punches and tooling, plus roll and wrap and other coin packaging.
The world's best plated coin
The Royal Canadian Mint's patented coin plating technology helps minimize coin cost for foreign governments. In addition, it offers superior quality, durability and electro-magnetic signature (EMS) readability for better long-term performance compared to conventional alloys and other plating alternatives.
- Benefits:
- Unique EMS that differs from other plated materials
- Ability to match any existing EMS
- Lower cost than the traditional copper and nickel alloy-based materials
- Improved durability from improved material coverage on the coin's wear area
- Responds to advances in automated vending technology
- Environmentally friendly cyanide-free process
Imagination and excellence
The Royal Canadian Mint provides its proven expertise to foreign markets to develop, produce, package and market custom commemorative coins. From the initial creative concept to the individual detailing of each piece, our approach is characterized by the single-minded pursuit of quality.
International clients come to us for custom numismatic coins, for example the 1997 commission from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to produce a $1,000 22-karat gold coin to mark the historic transfer of the territory to the People's Republic of China.
Combining heightened art with technical precision, virtually any coin size, shape, finish and bi-metallic combination can be achieved in a variety of precious metals and alloys. Design and composition are limited only by our (and our clients') imagination.
Coin management services
These services draw on our experience as managers of Canada's national coinage system:
- Consulting services on how to start a Mint
- Converting coins
- Introducing new coinage
- Engineering
