Gold
Gold bar specifications: refined bars for wholesale buyers
The specifications wholesale gold bars are traded on: the LBMA Good Delivery bar, the Dubai and Shanghai kilobar standards, fineness, marks and assay, and the specification and export documents of refined bars from Uganda.
Wholesale gold bar standards
| Standard | Bar | Weight | Minimum fineness |
|---|---|---|---|
| LBMA Good Delivery (London) | Large bar | 350 to 430 fine troy oz (about 10.9 to 13.4 kg) | 995.0 |
| UAE Good Delivery (Dubai) | Kilobar | 1 kg (31.99 fine troy oz at 995) | 995.0 |
| Shanghai Gold Exchange Au99.99 | Kilobar | 1 kg | 999.9 |
| Shanghai Gold Exchange Au99.95 | Ingot | 3 kg | 999.5 |
A Good Delivery bar must carry the refiner's stamp, an assay mark, its fineness to four significant figures, a serial number of up to 11 characters and, for bars made since January 2019, the month and year of manufacture. Its recommended dimensions are a top face 250 mm ± 40 mm long and 70 mm ± 15 mm wide, and a height of 35 mm ± 10 mm. See gold bar sizes and weights and 1 kg gold bars explained.
Specification of refined bars from Uganda
The specification a quote would be written against; no supply is in place yet.
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Fineness | 999.9 (four nines) or 999.0 (three nines). Refined gold is 99.5% or better by definition. |
| Format | 1 kg kilobar, a standard trade format. Smaller bars (100 g to 500 g, 10 oz) on specification. |
| Marks | Refiner's name or mark, fineness, weight and serial number, matching the certificate of analysis. |
| Assay | Fire assay on a sealed sample, with an independent umpire laboratory if results differ. See gold assay. |
| Bar standard | Non-Good-Delivery. No Ugandan refinery is currently on the LBMA Good Delivery List. |
Good Delivery status and what it means for buyers
The LBMA Good Delivery List is the set of refiners whose bars are accepted in the London market without re-assay. No Ugandan refinery is on it. A buying refinery therefore assays Ugandan bars on arrival, and many treat them as feed for their own refining. See how gold is refined. The price basis reflects this: see how gold from Uganda is priced.
How refined gold leaves Uganda
- Who exports. Normally a licence holder, with an export permit (Form 52) for each consignment. Which licence types can currently obtain permits is not settled: the Act allows permits to be granted to any person, while DGSM's published export-permit requirements list a valid mineral dealer's licence or mineral right.
- Purity. The Mining and Minerals Act 2022 sets no purity figure; refiners export at purity levels prescribed by regulations. The ministry has said since December 2024 that exported gold must be refined to 99.9% (reported).
- Levy. An export levy of USD 200 per kilogram is reported, about 0.14% of the value of a kilogram.
Documents that travel with each consignment
- Export permit for the consignment
- Certificate of origin, where applicable
- Certificate of analysis authenticated by the country of origin
- Commercial invoice, packing list and air waybill
- Proof of royalty and levy payment, where applicable
- The supplier's KYC and beneficial-ownership file, and mine-level chain-of-custody records for documented-origin lots
Assay and settlement
In refining contracts filed publicly, the refiner assays a sample from the melt and both sides' results are averaged when they fall within an agreed tolerance (0.5 parts per thousand for gold in one contract). Otherwise an independent umpire decides. Payment in those contracts follows receipt and assay. We will apply the same discipline: assay by the buying refinery on arrival, an independent umpire if results differ beyond the agreed tolerance, and payment on the terms agreed in a signed contract.
Requesting a quote for refined bars
State the fineness, bar format, whether Good Delivery bars are required, quantity per shipment, frequency, destination and delivery point, and the documents you require.
Specification guides
Quotes
Tell us what you are buying.
Send the gold form, fineness, quantity, delivery point and the documents you require. We reply by email with what can and cannot be quoted at this stage, and on what basis.
Sources for the figures and rules on this page
Evidence for this page
Each statement is labelled by the strength of its evidence and dated. How we label evidence.
| Statement | Evidence | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fully refined gold is 99.5% or better. | Verified | LBMA Responsible Gold Guidance v9, Definitions | |
| No Ugandan refinery appears on LBMA's Good Delivery List for gold. | Official | LBMA Good Delivery List, gold, checked 13 Sep 2026 | |
| Each export consignment requires an export permit, which the Minister may grant to any person; the permit does not exempt the exporter from requirements including a certificate of analysis authenticated by the country of origin and a certificate of origin where applicable. The Act sets no purity figure; refiners export at purity levels prescribed by regulations. | Verified | Mining and Minerals Act 2022 (Uganda), assented copy, ss.130(b) and 150 | |
| Ministry guidelines of 21 Dec 2024 require proof that exported gold has been refined to 99.9% and that the USD 200/kg levy has been paid. | Reported | The Independent (Uganda), 21 Dec 2024 | |
| Published refining contracts assay a melt sample, average results within an agreed tolerance (0.5 parts per thousand for gold in one contract), use an independent umpire otherwise, and pay after receipt and assay. | Verified | SEC EDGAR refining agreements | |
| LBMA Good Delivery gold bars: 350–430 fine troy ounces, minimum fineness 995.0; marks: refiner's stamp, assay mark, fineness to four significant figures, serial number of no more than 11 characters, month and year of manufacture (MMYY) for bars from January 2019; recommended dimensions top length 250 mm ± 40 mm, top width 70 mm ± 15 mm, height 35 mm ± 10 mm. | Verified | LBMA Good Delivery Rules, technical specifications | |
| The UAE (Dubai) Good Delivery standard is for refiners' production of 1 kg bars of 995 fineness; the Shanghai Gold Exchange Au99.99 contract is a 1 kg ingot of 9999 and Au99.95 a 3 kg ingot of 9995. | Reported | BullionStar, Dubai gold market; BullionStar, Chinese gold market |