Good Delivery
How to apply for Good Delivery accreditation
Are you a refiner? Find out how you can gain accreditation to our Good Delivery Lists, which set the stringent standards that facilitate trade in gold and silver bars.
To be accredited to the Good Delivery List, refiners must undergo stringent checks. LBMA is unlikely to regard your application for listing favourably unless you have:
- Been in existence for at least five years and been refining the metal for which you are applying for Good Delivery status for not less than three years.
- An established annual refining production (which need not be in the form of standard bars) of not less than 10 tonnes for gold, or not less than 50 tonnes for silver.
- A tangible net worth of not less than the equivalent of £15 million.
- Ownership, financial standing and reputation that would satisfy the Due Diligence tests practised in the Loco London Market.
- The applicant must implement LBMA’s Responsible Sourcing Programme.
Good Delivery List Application and Maintenance Fees
Application fees
Good Delivery application fees cover LBMA’s costs and the work of the referees. Currently the total fee, excluding VAT, is £29,040 for gold and £22,600 for silver payable in three tranches:
| Fees (payable to LBMA) | Gold | Silver |
|---|---|---|
| On application (25% on initial application) (plus VAT at the applicable rate) | £4,000 | £4,000 |
| Stage 1: Assay Test (not normally subject to VAT) | £15,400 | £5,500 |
| Stage 2: Testing of applicant’s bars (not normally subject to VAT) | £13,100 | £13,100 |
| Total: | £32,500 | £22,600 |
Procedure for submitting an application
We review fees annually and may change them at any time, but not retrospectively once an application has begun.
Fees are payable in advance at each stage. The fees shown for Stage 1 cover the cost of the samples (including their metal content) provided to the applicant, but not the cost of shipping incurred by LBMA. This will be charged in addition to the fees shown. If an applicant does not progress to the next stage, for whatever reason, no part of the fees already paid is refundable, but no fees are payable for the next stage.
Once the tests have been completed, we will notify the applicant of the after-melting weight and fine troy ounce content (for gold) or troy ounce content (for silver) of their sample bars. By separate arrangement, we can sell the gold or silver and credit the proceeds to the applicant. Alternatively, we can make an equivalent weight of gold or silver available to the applicant (subject to the settlement of all outstanding fees) on a Loco London basis by book transfer through the London bullion market clearing mechanism.
The 5th bar, which will have been retained in the nominated vault in London, is not considered to be London Good Delivery even if the applicant has been accredited. The applicant can make similar arrangements for selling the metal content or arrange to collect the bar from the vault.
To find out about the application process and to submit an application, visit the LBMA Members' Portal.
In order to maintain its accreditation, each refiner on the Good Delivery List must pay an annual maintenance fee to the LBMA (of £9,900 per metal or £14,900 if a refiner is listed for both gold and silver).
All the above amounts are subject to UK Value Added Tax where applicable.
*Please note that these prices are subject to an annual review process that will realise a minimum increase based on the year-end rate inflation. The website will be updated in January of each year.
With effect from 1 January 2021, your GDL accreditation will automatically include LBMA Subscriber status and the range of benefits highlighted below, with more to follow. The enhanced package is £8,100 for Subscriber status and will be included in your annual GDL Maintenance fee.
LBMA Subscriber benefits include:
- The opportunity to have a seat at the table and be part of the discussions, contributing to the future direction of the market via the development of global standards and solutions.
- Direct access to advice and guidance on a range of physical, compliance and regulatory issues, currently only available to Members.
- Support with attestation to the Global Precious Metals Code, to raise market confidence.
- Member discounts on LBMA events, including but not limited to the Annual Global Precious Metals Conference, Forums, Assaying & Refining Conference, etc.
- Member discounts for LBMA’s training courses, including the Vault Operators Training, An Introduction to Loco London and the Global Precious Metals Code, plus more to follow.
- Plus, Member only briefings on a range of topical issues, along with our Members Weekly newsletter.
*Please note that these prices are subject to an annual review process that will realise a minimum increase based on the year-end rate inflation. The website will be updated in January of each year.
The refiner must pay the costs and expenses if appointment of a supervisor is required. The supervising company will charge a fixed fee (US$2,000) for each dip sampling operation witnessed (US$2,300 including bar casting), unless specifically agreed otherwise, plus travelling and subsistence expenses incurred by its representative. This means expenses chargeable by the supervising companies will depend on the locations of their representative offices relative to that of the refiner.
Please see the Good Delivery Rules for full details on the proactive monitoring process.
Application Fee (plus VAT at the applicable rate): £1,000
The fees outlined in the Annual Maintenance Fee section will be applicable to ESG/Provenance bar Listings.
For questions about the application process, please contact gdl@lbma.org.uk for more information.
Sample self-testing
Refiners who are in the final stages of preparing to apply for LBMA Good Delivery accreditation may purchase a limited supply of gold and/or silver self-testing samples from us. The samples can be used for a final check of the laboratory's assaying accuracy before the refiner submits its application.
Samples are limited to a maximum of six per refiner for each metal, with costs as follows:
- Approximately 5-gram gold samples – £4,100 for the set of six, including the value of the metal content, plus VAT (as applicable)
- Approximately 15-30-gram silver samples – £2,490 for the set of six, including the value of the metal content, plus VAT (as applicable).
The cost of shipping to the refinery will be payable in addition.
Self-testing assay results (in fineness terms to two decimal places) must be submitted to us within six weeks of the laboratory confirming receipt of the samples. For each sample, the laboratory should supply:
- The number of trials carried out
- The average fineness
- The standard deviation achieved.
On receiving these results, we will provide the refiner with the reference assay values (expressed in fineness to two decimal places) for the samples.
We will keep the submitted results confidential. They will not be provided either to the Physical Committee or to LBMA Referees, except on an anonymous basis.
Failure of the refiner to submit assay results within six weeks could result in the subsequent application being rejected.
Weight conversion tool
Welcome to our easy-to-use Weight Conversion Tool, which will convert your weight in grams to troy ounces immediately using the conversion rate of 1 gram = 0.032151 troy ounces. Our calculator is useful for accurate and quick conversions, but always consult a professional when precision is crucial.
Further Information
It should be noted that LBMA does not approve physical Vaults which may be used by the market.
- Brink's Ltd - available on request
- HSBC Bank USA NA London Branch - 8 Canada Square London E14 5HQ
- ICBC Standard Bank plc - 20 Gresham Street London EC2V 7JE
- JP Morgan Chase Bank - 25 Bank Street Canary Wharf London, E14 5JP
- Loomis International (UK) Ltd - available on request
- Malca-Amit Commodities Ltd - available on request
- UBS AG - 100 Liverpool Street London EC2M 2RH
Inclusion in this list does not constitute or imply any representation or warranty by LBMA as to creditworthiness or as to the services or goods supplied or quality or compliance with any specification relating thereto. No liability for direct or consequential loss, howsoever caused, whether by negligence or otherwise, whether by use of this list or reliance thereon, is accepted by LBMA.
Alfred H Knight Group
Kings Business Park, Kings Drive, Prescot, L34 1PJ, United Kingdom
T: +44 (0) 151 481 5850
phil.bolan@ahkgroup.com
ALS Inspection
Caddick Road, Knowsley Business Park, Prescot, L34 9HP, United Kingdom
T: +44 (0) 151 632 9248
F: +44 (0) 151 548 0714
david.pownall@alsglobal.com, rachel.regan@alsglobal.com
Alex Stewart International
2b Sefton Business Park, Aintree, Liverpool, Merseyside, L30 1RD, United Kingdom
T: +44 (0) 7934 857877 (Rob Smith)
T: +44 (0) 1592 645792 (Audrey Emans)
rob.smith@alexstewartinternational.com, aemans@alexstewartinternational.com (Audrey Emans)
Bureau Veritas Commodities
2 Perry Road, Witham, Essex, CM8 3TU, United Kingdom
T: +44 (0) 1376 536 800
F: +44 (0) 1376 520 819
aline.hensel@bureauveritas.com
Inclusion in this list does not constitute or imply any representation or warranty by LBMA as to creditworthiness or as to the services or goods supplied or quality or compliance with any specification relating thereto. No liability for direct or consequential loss, howsoever caused, whether by negligence or otherwise, whether by use of this list or reliance thereon, is accepted by LBMA.
For the purpose of rounding five-figure assays to four figures, the following principle should be observed (except in the cases shown below). If the fifth significant figure is a six or greater, then the fourth significant figure should be rounded up by one.
- The first exception is that assays of 999.86 to 999.89 should not be rounded up to 999.9 and should be reported as 999.8.
- Similarly assays of 994.96 to 994.99 should not be rounded up to 995.0 and should be reported as 994.9. Thus bars within this range would be below the minimum assay for acceptability.
- Finally, an assay of 999.96 or above should not be rounded up and should be reported as 999.9.
