The pursuit of excellence prevails: we offer refining, pure and simple, and have none of the other operations that lead to conflict.
Simone Bernasconi - AMS
At Valcambi we know that each company must define the priorities among the sustainability topics.
To allow our client to decide, we make available different cast products with different characteristics.
We are committed to driving a responsible and sustainable gold sector by looking at every aspect of what we do and working with all actors along our entire value chain and in our industry.
We work with suppliers and clients who share our values and our principles, and our commitment to drive a sustainable world.
Green Gold is traceable gold. Valcambi Green Gold is a premium quality precious metal product.
Its origins are fully documented and independently validated.
Valcambi Green Gold is sourced only from mines which adhere to the highest standards of environmental stewardship, and to the health and safety, and the human rights of their labour force.
The handling and processing of Green Gold by Valcambi is entirely segregated within our plant, from the point of arrival through to refining (using specially dedicated crucibles and electrolytic refining banks), through the continuous casting process using dedicated crucibles, to the manufacturing of cast, minted, and semi-finished products.
The entire Green Gold supply chain is under the control of independent supervisory and auditing processes.
Valcambi guarantees the very highest standards for Valcambi Green Gold.
Valcambi Green Gold products are currently available in the form of Valcambi 1 kilo bars (999,9 purity), standard bars (999,9 purity), gold grain, minted bars, coins, and on request, semi-finished products for the watchmaking industry.
Whenever you see this brand on a bar or ingot, you know that it has been refined, assayed, and manufactured by Valcambi adhering to the strictest environmental and human rights policies.
Our bottles of Green Gold grain are sealed at Valcambi’s plant in the presence of an Independent Auditor who attends the entire refining and manufacturing process.
Subject to a minimum order size, on request, from Green Gold Valcambi can produce a complete range of cast (size range from 50 g to 1,000 g) and minted bars (size range from 1 g to 1,000 g), coins, and a wide range of semi-finished products for the watchmaking industry.
Beyond our standard shapes and sizes, special requests can be met using our dedicated range of in-house master tools and minting dies, according to client’s specifications.
Obverse and reverse bar design can be customised according to a client’s wishes, provided that the compulsory marks are ensured and that the design respects the rules of Swiss customs regarding Value Added Tax (VAT).
Each bar is stamped with Valcambi’s Assay Mark and Green Gold brand to assure quality and to guarantee authenticity.
We design customised individual certificates and tailored packaging solutions for our clients as required.
All our Green Gold products are produced at Valcambi’s plant in the presence of an Independent Auditor who attends the entire refining and manufacturing process.
ASM gold is originated by Artisanal and Small-Scale mines. If the mines are certified according to a recognized standard (Fairtrade, Fairmined), Valcambi can refine and sell the gold according to such protocols and sell Fairtrade of Fairmined certified gold.
The commitment of Valcambi in sourcing from ASM mines is not limited to certified mines: we source from SBG approved supply chains and from ASM mines that, even fulfilling all the compliance criteria, are not part of any of such programs.
This gold is processed in a segregated refining batch, and is not commingled with other type of gold.
ASM gold enable the ASMs to liaise directly with our refinery.
They face a strict due diligence process to be approved, and ding so they will be able to approach also other GD refineries having learned what is required to be accepted in the first-tier market.
With a direct contact with the refinery, they can benefit from better prices and returns on the precious metals, and at the same time the supply chain is reduced minimizing the possibilities of irregularities in longer supply chains.
ASM gold is per LBMA definition “high-risk”, therefore not all the clients are keen to accept it.
Furthermore, the quantities available are limited.
ASM gold is the best solution for investors that are prioritizing the positive impact for the miners and the communities.
Recycled gold is originated by incoming materials that have been already processed in the past.
Recycled gold can include high-grade (investment) and low-grade (scrap) sources.
In the last ten years, several sourcing standards have been introduced in the market, and Valcambi is an early adopter and is RJC CoC certified and certified according to the LBMA Responsible Gold Guidance.
These standards ensures that a proper due diligence is applied to the recycled sources to ensure a proper origin.
High-grade gold is originated from GD refineries or from approved intermediate refineries only.
Low-grade is originated from old jewellery and industrial scrap.
Recycling is a way to give a second life to materials.
Recycling gold to produce investment gold is a way to convert the precious metal in a form that can be stored in a vault in form of investment and, when appropriate, immediately converted in other forms keeping its purity or adding other elements to create an alloy.
Refining of recycled materials has the minimum environmental impact: the CO2 eq emission are limited to the refining process and there are no needs of extraction from mines.
Transportation is also, normally, much less impacting due to the shorter routes.
Recycled gold is the optimal solution for investors that are prioritizing the reduction of the environmental impact.
The Fairtrade gold and Fairmined gold are independently audited criteria, respectively by Fairtrade International (FLO) and Alliance for Responsible Mining.
Both the standards enable artisanal and small scale miners (ASM) to improve their livelihoods, giving assurance to retailers and consumers that the miners are getting a fair deal for their work.
The Swiss Better Gold Association (SBGA) offers a pioneering network of industry, finance and other service providers which support the creation of responsible gold value chains from mine to market.
Valcambi supports all these initiatives producing grain, semi-finished and investment products for its clients and with its own brand, like the cast ingots of20 grams and 1 ounce with Fairtrade gold.
RJC is the world’s leading sustainability standard setting organisation for the jewellery and watch industry.
Valcambi is a certified member (CoP) and a chain of custody certified entity (CoC) of RJC.
