Fully Traceable Gold Technically Feasible Or Pure Fantasy?

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Scientific researchers and companies are in hot pursuit of technologies that can track gold's journey to within metres of where it was mined, ensuring your rings and necklaces come from an African mine free of child labor or a licensed field in Brazil, rather than a pit unleashing toxic mercury or enriching criminal gangs in the Amazon.

“Switzerland has a special responsibility with respect to a reliable and fair Gold supply chain,” environmental geophysics professor Niklas Linde told a conference on gold traceability at the University of Lausanne in May.

Gold is different from most other commodities traded out of Switzerland because it physically enters the country. About a third of the world's mined gold and half of recycled gold is processed or refined within the borders of the Alpine nation, Linde noted.

Given its position as a top international gold refining and commodities trading hub, Switzerland is fertile ground for companies selling traceability technology.

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Multiple solutions

Digital and physical traceability technologies specific to precious metals are now on offer from a variety of players. The methods are compatible, so while tech companies might focus on selling the merits of one approach, refiners may use both.

For gold, the holy grail is achieving comprehensive traceability from the ground to the refined bar, regardless of whether the supply chain starts at a rudimentary artisanal operation or a large industrial mine. Blockchain solutions are popular but do not cover the entirety of the gold supply chain. Lausanne-based Sicpa , an old-timer in the traceability space, launched Bullion Protect this year – a security seal applied to a gold bar after the refining process.

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The London Bullion Market Association and World Gold Council launched a joint pilot last year – the Gold Bar Integrity (GBI) programme – to digitally monitor gold's journey from mine to vault. The programme has tapped two companies, including aXedras, a Swiss distributed ledger company based in commodity trading hub Zug, to develop a digital tracking solution using a blockchain-backed ledger. AlpVision, a Swiss-based provider of digital anti-counterfeiting technology, has also had its Fingerprint solution accredited by the GBI, allowing users to scan a product's surface with a smartphone app to verify its authenticity.

Refineries, meanwhile, are wasting no time testing and developing technologies in-house. Switzerland-based refiner MKS Pamp developed its own blockchain-based traceability solution, Provenance, which it has been using since 2022 to trace precious metals and support its claims that it is sourcing gold responsibly.

Swiss refiner Argor-Heraeus uses a spray-on marker from Swiss traceability solutions developer Haelixa to track its gold from industrial mines in South America. That works in a well-controlled supply chain, but critics point out that the marker disappears if the gold is remelted.

Everyone wants to become the gold standard for traceability, and it's a topic that generates heated debate.

Barbara Beck – the traceability guru

Geoscientist Barbara Beck was the brains behind the conference at the University of Lausanne that devoted two whole days to the issue – drawing the full spectrum of Swiss traceability companies and gold refiners, as well as law enforcement representatives from both Switzerland and Brazil. Gold traders, regulators, academics, and NGOs that focus on the environmental and human rights impact of gold mining and processing also attended.

A networking force of nature, Beck is passionate about the flow of metals across time and space. Her journey began with a PhD in archaeometry – which draws on scientific methods to resolve archaeological mysteries – and deep dives into topics such as silver production in Switzerland's Wallis region in ancient times.

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