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The World Gold Council has adopted guidance urging gold producers to publish an annual list linking each doré-producing mine to the refiners that receive its metal and the refiners’ countries. The voluntary framework aims to make gold supply chains more transparent, but does not require shipment weights or prove that gold was responsibly sourced.
The World Gold Council has adopted guidance urging gold producers to publish an annual list connecting each mine that produces doré with the refiners receiving its metal and the refiners’ countries. The voluntary framework is intended to make legitimate gold flows easier to distinguish from illicit trade, though disclosure alone would not establish that gold was responsibly sourced.
The London-based industry body recommends that companies identify each mine, its state and country, the refiner receiving its doré, and the refiner’s country. If a mine sends metal to more than one refiner, the guidance says each recipient should be listed. Companies can publish the information in annual or sustainability reports, or an equivalent publication, with disclosures covering the preceding 12 months.
The framework addresses gold doré: partly refined gold-and-silver bars poured at mine sites. It also covers certain toll-processing arrangements, recommending disclosure when a company retains legal custody of its gold until export. The guidance permits exclusions for sensitive commercial information and details that could put workers’ safety at risk. It does not require companies to report shipment weights, transport firms, routes, traders or exporters.
The council has not set a first reporting year or publication deadline, and the guidance does not specify penalties for companies that do not disclose. It recommends industry-wide reporting rather than creating a legal reporting requirement. The guidance also excludes gold shipped as concentrate, carbon fines or low-grade sweepings, which the council says typically do not go directly to a refinery.
What Mine-to-Refiner Links Reveal
Publishing mine-to-refiner relationships could give investors, regulators, downstream companies and other stakeholders a clearer view of where mined gold enters the refining system. The information may help identify links that warrant further scrutiny and make supply chains less opaque, particularly when concerns arise about gold from high-risk areas.
But the information has limits. A public link between a mine and a refinery identifies a supply-chain relationship; it does not independently verify a shipment’s origin, establish that no criminal activity financed the gold, or show whether a producer met responsible-sourcing standards. The council’s framework also leaves out shipment-level weights and several intermediaries, so it will not provide a complete account of every movement of metal.
For communities, investors and authorities seeking to respond to alleged abuses, the practical effect will depend on which companies publish the information, how consistently they follow the guidance and whether disclosures can be checked against other records. The framework creates a common format, but voluntary participation and limited shipment detail constrain what readers can conclude from a list alone.
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From 2023 Pledge to Guidance
The framework follows a September 2023 commitment by World Gold Council members to disclose their refining partners. At that time, 33 members with operating mines collectively produced about 1,300 tonnes of gold annually. The members pledged to name refining partners at least once a year for operations whose primary revenue came from gold production. They also committed to joining the Gold Bar Integrity platform and confidentially supplying production data to refining partners.
The new guidance sets out a common reporting format for that commitment and recommends disclosure across the doré-producing industry. Its adoption comes amid scrutiny of the routes gold takes from mines to North American supply chains. The Northern Miner reported that investigations by The New York Times raised questions about gold from Latin America entering those chains.
In April, the Royal Canadian Mint pledged to expand sourcing disclosures after the newspaper reported that some gold it refined may have come from Colombian cartel-controlled mines. The Mint said it had suspended refining material from the supply chain in question. In another case, The New York Times reported in September that Venezuelan doré shipped to the United States under a Trafigura agreement with state-owned miner Minerven remained in storage because refiners were unwilling to handle it. Trafigura disputed several points of that account in comments to The Northern Miner.
Disclosure pressure has also reached refiners. In a September 2025 submission concerning proposed disclosure changes by the London Bullion Market Association, Human Rights Watch urged the association to require refiners to identify all mines of origin and suppliers, including those outside the World Gold Council’s membership and suppliers of recycled gold.
““It gives downstream partners, investors, regulators and other stakeholders more confidence in the integrity of the market while making it harder for opaque or irresponsible practices to hide in complexity.””
— Vivien Glass, the World Gold Council’s head of supply chain integrity
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Reporting Scope and Enforcement
Several implementation details remain unsettled. The council has not specified when the first disclosure is due, which reporting year companies should cover first, or how compliance will be monitored. The guidance names no penalties for non-disclosure, and a council spokesperson had not responded to The Northern Miner’s request for clarification at the time of its report.
It is also unclear how many producers will publish the information and whether disclosures will use consistent levels of detail. Companies may withhold commercial or security-sensitive information, and the framework excludes some forms of gold-bearing material. The council’s recommendations do not confirm the origin or responsible sourcing of any individual shipment.
The reported cases cited in the coverage also remain distinct from the guidance itself. The Mint’s response and Trafigura’s dispute over aspects of the Venezuelan doré account should not be treated as proof that the disclosure framework has resolved questions about those supply chains.
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First Company Disclosures Awaited
The next practical test will be whether gold producers publish mine-to-refiner lists in their annual, sustainability or equivalent reports. Those disclosures should show which operating mines send doré to which refiners and identify the relevant countries, according to the framework.
Companies, investors and other readers will also be watching for clarification of the first reporting period and deadline, along with how broadly producers apply the recommendations. Until those details emerge, the guidance establishes a voluntary format but does not set a common publication timetable or enforcement process.
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Key Questions
What does the World Gold Council want miners to disclose?
The guidance urges producers to publish an annual list identifying each doré-producing mine, its state and country, the refiner receiving its metal, and the refiner’s country. If a mine uses several refiners, each should be listed.
Is the disclosure requirement legally binding?
No. The council recommends disclosure and a common reporting format; the guidance does not establish a legal reporting requirement or specify penalties for failing to publish.
Does naming a refiner prove that gold was responsibly sourced?
No. A mine-to-refiner disclosure shows a supply-chain relationship, but does not by itself verify a shipment’s origin or establish that the gold was not connected to criminal activity.
What information can remain undisclosed?
The guidance does not require shipment weights. Transport companies, routes, traders and exporters may also remain unnamed, along with sensitive commercial details or information that could jeopardize worker safety.
When must companies publish their first disclosures?
The council has not specified the first reporting year or a publication deadline. It recommends annual disclosure covering the preceding 12 months, but a common start date has not been announced.
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