Gold casting grain: 999.9 fine grain for manufacturers

What is gold casting grain?

Casting grain (also called shot or granules) is gold in small beads, produced by pouring molten gold through a sieve into water, where it solidifies. It is real gold in a different physical form, not a plated or filled product: 24 karat grain is 999.9 fine, the same metal as a refined bar. Grain is easy to weigh to the gram and melts quickly and evenly, which is why casters, alloy makers and industrial users buy gold in this form rather than as bars. One fine-grain producer states a mixed grain size of about 0.2 to 4 mm.

Fine grain and karat grain

Karat grain is fine gold mixed with silver, copper and other metals to a set colour and hardness. A manufacturer that makes its own alloys buys fine grain; one that casts directly buys karat grain from an alloy supplier. Ugandan refined gold is fine metal, so the form relevant here is 999.9 fine grain; karat grain is an alloying product made by alloy houses, and we record requirements only for fine grain. See gold fineness and karats.

How casting grain is priced

Grain is priced on its fine gold content, like bars: the weight × the fineness × the gold price, plus a fabrication premium for granulating, packing and assaying. See how gold from Uganda is priced.

What to specify when you buy grain

• Fineness (999.9 for fine grain), with an assay certificate for each lot
• Grain size range, if your furnace or casting process needs one
• Quantity per shipment and frequency
• Packing (sealed bags or containers of a stated weight)
• The origin documents you require

Where to buy gold casting grain

Fine casting grain is sold by refiners, bullion dealers and jewellery supply houses; karat grain is usually bought from an alloy supplier. Whoever you buy from, the checks are the same ones a refinery applies:

• Fineness in writing. 999.9 for fine grain, with an assay certificate for the lot you are buying, not a generic specification sheet.
• Who you are contracting with. A named company, its licence or registration, and the beneficial owners behind it. For Ugandan counterparties, see the mineral dealer's licence and how to check a supplier.
• How the metal is assayed on arrival. The buying refinery assays, with an independent umpire if results differ beyond the agreed tolerance.
• The documents that travel with it. Export permit for the consignment, certificate of origin, and a certificate of analysis authenticated by the country of origin.
• Payment terms. Never before a signed contract, and never to an agent rather than the contracting party.

A price far below the fine gold content is the clearest warning sign; grain is priced on the metal it contains, so a deep discount has no legitimate commercial explanation.

Casting grain from Uganda

Casting grain at 999.9 is one of the forms we record requirements for; it is quoted only once licensed supply is confirmed. We hold no stock and no licensed supply route today, so this page sets out the specification a quote would be written against rather than an offer. Grain follows the same export route as refined bars: an export permit for each consignment, a certificate of analysis authenticated by the country of origin, and assay by the buying refinery on arrival, with an independent umpire deciding if results differ beyond the agreed tolerance. Read the gold bar and refined gold specification or how gold assay works, or request a gold quote and choose "Refined granules / casting grain".