LBMA Good Delivery

The LBMA Good Delivery Standard is the most important quality hallmark in professional precious metal trading. Bars that meet this standard are accepted without further testing at the London gold market and at all major international trading venues — they are, in a sense, the "trading currency" among institutional investors, central banks, and wholesalers.

What does Good Delivery mean?

"Good Delivery" literally means exactly what it says — a bar bearing this status is immediately tradeable without additional testing or remelting. The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), founded in 1987 as the self-regulatory body of the leading London precious metal dealers, administers the Good Delivery List — whose fundamentals are much older — and sets out the rules in the Good Delivery Rules for Gold and Silver Bars, which are regularly updated.

The standard defines precise requirements in four areas:

1. Fineness — the minimum purity level of the metal
2. Weight and dimensions — tight tolerances for mass and form
3. Markings — mandatory information that every bar must carry
4. Origin — only approved refineries may issue Good Delivery bars

Technical specifications at a glance

The target weight of 400 troy ounces for the gold bar corresponds to the classic "London Good Delivery Bar" as used in the vaults of central banks and in clearing transactions through the LBMA system. The seemingly wide weight tolerances result from the casting process: Good Delivery bars are cast, not minted (cf. Melt Value Calculator).

Mandatory markings on every bar

Every Good Delivery bar must carry the following information, stamped or cast directly into the bar surface:

• Refinery mark (registered logo/name)
• Serial number (unique batch number)
• Fineness (as a per-mille figure, e.g. 9950 to 9999 for gold)
• Gross weight in troy ounces
• Year of manufacture

The combination of serial number and refinery mark enables complete traceability of every bar — an essential feature for authenticity verification and for anti-money-laundering compliance.

The LBMA Good Delivery List

The centrepiece of the system is the Good Delivery List — a publicly accessible reference list of all globally approved refineries. Inclusion in this list is a demanding, multi-stage process:

1. The refinery submits sample bars.
2. Independent examiners accredited by the LBMA (known as Referees) analyse fineness, weight, dimensions, and surface.
3. Upon passing, a probationary period under observation follows.
4. Every five years a further review (Proactive Monitoring) is required.

Renowned refineries such as Heraeus, Umicore, PAMP Suisse, Valcambi, and the Perth Mint appear on this list. Inclusion is regarded within the industry as a quality seal of the first order.

Significance for the spot price and LBMA fixing

The LBMA Fixing — the reference price for gold determined twice daily and once for silver — is based exclusively on transactions in Good Delivery bars. The Good Delivery standard is thus directly linked to the spot price: when media report "the gold price", they always mean the price of an LBMA-compliant Good Delivery bar, expressed in US dollars per troy ounce.

Melt value of a Good Delivery gold bar (example):
  Weight:     400 troy ounces × 31.1035 g = 12,441.4 g gross
  Fineness:   995.0 ‰ (minimum) → fine weight ≈ 12,379.2 g
  Value:       fine weight × spot price (\$/g) × EUR/USD rate

Distinction from retail investor products

Good Delivery bars are not designed for the typical private investor. A 400-ounce gold bar represents at a gold price of around EUR 90,000 per kilogram a value of approximately EUR 1.1 million — well beyond typical retail investments. Private investors instead purchase certified small bars (1 g to 1 kg) or investment gold in coin form such as the Krugerrand.

Nevertheless, Good Delivery bars are indirectly relevant to every private investor: Exchange Traded Commodities (ETCs) such as Xetra-Gold and funds holding physically backed gold hold Good Delivery bars exclusively in accredited vaults.

Responsible sourcing — the ethical dimension

Since 2012 the LBMA has required its members and suppliers to comply with the Responsible Gold Guidance; the corresponding Responsible Silver Guidance was added in 2018. Refineries must demonstrate annually that their raw metal does not originate from conflict zones and that no human rights violations exist in the supply chain. This framework is aligned with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas.

A Good Delivery bar therefore carries not only a statement about chemical purity, but also about supply chain integrity — an aspect that is increasingly decisive for institutional investors with ESG requirements.

In brief

The LBMA Good Delivery standard is the global backbone of physical precious metal trading: it defines which bars are tradeable without further testing, which refineries are considered trustworthy, and on what basis the daily gold price is determined. Anyone following the silver price or gold price is always moving in a market whose foundation is this standard.