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The new licences are largely contiguous with those held by Sibanye-Stillwater at the Keliber project.
The mutual cross-recognition means:
– RJC recognises that gold refineries that are accredited by DMCC’s DGD standard and comply with DMCC’s responsible sourcing audit, will fulfil parts of Section 10 of the RJC Chain-of-Custody (‘CoC’) Standard
– DMCC will accept RJC CoC Certified gold refineries as demonstrating conformance with the DMCC Practical Guidance and Review Protocol
– Refiners will be able to save costs and reduce audit fatigue
Gautam Sashittal, Chief Operating Officer, DMCC, said:
“The DMCC Practical Guidance and Review Protocol ensures the highest global standards for responsible supply chain management. RJC’s recognition is further testimony of the robustness of the DMCC responsible sourcing protocol which enables global
Gautam Sashittal COO DMCC
industry participants to trade with confidence. This milestone follows Signet Jewelers’ recent confirmation of our alignment with their own guidelines and the GJEPC of India supporting the inclusion of gold from DGD-accredited refineries.”
Michael Rae, Chief Executive Officer of the RJC commented:
“Our desire to eradicate conflict gold as part of our goal to create a genuine responsibly sourced supply chain across the world is taking shape. RJC has worked hard on harmonisation and cross-recognition with relevant standards and industry initiatives, including an agreement with the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) and the Conflict Free Sourcing Initiative (CFSI) cross-recognising gold refiner audits. Adding the DMCC audit programme to this cross-recognition structure brings significant benefit to the marketplace, particularly in India. It will allow international jewellery manufacturers to source DGD’s one-kilo certified conflict free gold bars for jewellery production, ensuring compliance with US regulations, specifically Dodd-Frank Act Section 1502 and reducing audit duplication. This cross-recognition will help reduce additional costs of supply chain assurance program and support the downstream jewellery sector in its efforts for responsible sourcing. We look forward to working with the DMCC on this agreement and other collaborations.”
In 2013, DMCC appointed SGS to conduct an expert report comparing DMCC’s Practical Guidance for market participants in the Gold and Precious Metals’ industry with other international practical guidelines and industry standards. The report, published in August 2013, concludes that the DMCC’s Responsible Sourcing Guidance and Review Protocol is fully in line with the OECD’s guidance and other similar internationally accepted responsible sourcing of gold initiatives. The full report is available here.
The DGD Standard, launched by DMCC in 2005, is the adopted quality standard for gold and silver bars production and technical specification in the Middle East, and is benchmarked to international standards. DMCC’s Responsible Sourcing of Precious Metals Review Protocol requires that Dubai Good Delivery accredited member refineries are compliant with the DMCC’s Practical Guidance for Responsible Sourcing of Precious Metals. Adherence to the Guidance is certified by an independent panel of DMCC-approved international audit firms.
The RJC Chain-of-Custody (CoC) Standard enables responsible sourcing of precious metals for businesses in the jewellery supply chain. RJC’s CoC Standard was launched in March 2012 and is a voluntary standard applicable to gold and platinum group metals (platinum, palladium and rhodium) in addition to the mandatory RJC Code of Practices for RJC Members. RJC CoC Certified entities, including gold refiners, are audited to ensure that CoC precious metals are conflict-free as a minimum, and to ensure systems are in place to assure provenance claims of mined, recycled and/or grandfathered gold. RJC CoC Certified entities must also meet a range of requirements for human rights, labour standards, environmental impact, and business ethics, as set out in the RJC Code of Practices. CoC Certified gold refiners must implement conflict-sensitive sourcing practices in line with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for all sources of gold to the refinery.
