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Specification guide

Responsible Gold Sourcing and OECD Due Diligence in West Africa

What responsible, conflict-free gold sourcing actually requires in West Africa: the OECD Due Diligence Guidance Five-Step framework, the LBMA Responsible Gold Guidance, documented chain-of-custody, and how a compliant facilitator delivers traceability an institutional buyer can verify — without the LBMA-accreditation claims no Ghana refinery can make.

For an institutional buyer, “responsible sourcing” is not a slogan — it is a documented process with a recognised international standard behind it. In West Africa, where the gold trade carries real provenance and conflict-financing risk, that process is what separates a defensible supply chain from a liability. Kronix Metals runs OECD-aligned due diligence on every counterparty and source, and facilitates responsibly-sourced precious-metals trade across West Africa and the Lomé corridor, since 1992. Discuss a supply partnership: +233 27 000 0844. Institutional partners only.

The Standards That Define Responsible Sourcing

OECD Due Diligence Guidance

The OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas — first adopted in 2011, with a dedicated Gold Supplement — is the internationally recognised framework. It sets out a Five-Step process: establish strong management systems, identify and assess risk in the supply chain, design and implement a response, carry out independent third-party audit, and report annually.

LBMA Responsible Gold Guidance

The LBMA Responsible Gold Guidance (RGG) — first issued in 2012, currently Version 9 (Nov 2021) — builds on the OECD framework and is mandatory for LBMA Good-Delivery refiners. It is a genuine, citable competence signal.

What Responsible Sourcing Requires in Practice

Known Origin, Documented

Material is traced to a documented origin within the GoldBod-regime framework — not “direct from miners” with no record. Under Act 1140, ASM-sector gold trade runs through GoldBod, which makes documented origin a legal expectation, not just a best practice.

Counterparty and Source Risk Assessment

Every counterparty and source is assessed against the OECD red-flag criteria — conflict financing, money laundering, human-rights risk — before anything moves.

Chain-of-Custody From Origin to Delivery

A documented chain-of-custody links every handover, so the buyer can trace the metal back through the supply chain.

Independent Assay

Fineness is determined and certified by fire assay or XRF — the material is what the documentation says it is.

What We Do — and Do Not — Claim

A responsible-sourcing claim is only as good as its honesty. So, clearly:

  • We operate within the GoldBod regime under Act 1140; we do not claim to be GoldBod, to mine (that is the Minerals Commission’s domain under Act 703), or to be a refinery.
  • We run OECD-aligned due diligence and reference LBMA RGG as the framework — we do not claim to be an LBMA Good-Delivery refiner. No Ghana refinery is LBMA-accredited; the only Good-Delivery gold refiner in sub-Saharan Africa is Rand Refinery (South Africa).
  • We value gold against international spot, never below. A “discount”, an advance fee, or a “guaranteed” parcel is the scam signature — the opposite of responsible.

Responsible vs Irresponsible Sourcing

| Dimension | Responsible | Irresponsible / scam-adjacent | |---|---|---| | Framework | OECD Five-Step + LBMA RGG | None | | Origin | Documented, GoldBod-regime-aligned | “Direct from miners”, undocumented | | Assay | Certified (fire assay / XRF) | Asserted, no certificate | | Pricing | Against international spot, never below | “Discount”, advance fee, “guaranteed” | | Claims | Honest — no LBMA-accreditation claim | False accreditation / regulator impersonation |

Markets We Genuinely Serve

Kronix Metals facilitates responsibly-sourced trade between West African supply and institutional buyers in the United Kingdom and major European markets, across Africa, and through the Ghana–Togo (Lomé) corridor and Francophone West Africa — in English and French. We describe only the markets we genuinely serve; we are an institutional B2B partner, not a retail seller.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is OECD due diligence for gold?

It is the internationally recognised process — the OECD Due Diligence Guidance Five-Step framework with its Gold Supplement — for ensuring a mineral supply chain does not finance conflict or fund human-rights abuses. It means strong management systems, supply-chain risk assessment, a documented response, third-party audit, and annual reporting. Kronix Metals runs OECD-aligned due diligence on every counterparty and source; we reference the LBMA Responsible Gold Guidance as the framework but make no LBMA-accreditation claim.

Is “conflict-free Ghana gold” a real, verifiable thing?

Conflict-free status is established by documented due diligence and chain-of-custody, not by assertion. A responsible facilitator can show the OECD-aligned records and the documented origin within the GoldBod regime. Be wary of any “conflict-free” claim paired with a below-spot price, an advance fee, or “direct from miners” sourcing — those are scam signatures, not responsible-sourcing signals.

Can a Ghana supplier be LBMA-accredited?

No Ghana refinery is on the LBMA Gold Good Delivery List; the only Good-Delivery gold refiner in sub-Saharan Africa is Rand Refinery in South Africa. A West African supplier claiming LBMA accreditation is misrepresenting. We reference LBMA RGG and OECD as our due-diligence framework and make no accreditation claim of our own.

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