Doré Bar
Also: doré, doré bullion, mine bar
Doré bars are semi-refined raw bars of gold and silver cast directly at mines or smelters, then sent to a refinery where they are processed up to fine-metal quality.
Doré bars (from the French doré, meaning "gilded") are the immediate output of pyrometallurgical processing at gold and silver mines. Once the barren rock has been broken down by cyanide leaching or another process, the enriched precious metals are melted and cast into raw bars on site. These bars leave the mine and travel to a refinery, where they are brought up to tradeable fine-metal quality (≥ 995 ‰ for LBMA Good Delivery, often as high as 999.9 ‰ fine gold).
Composition and how they are made
A doré bar is not a pure precious metal but an intermediate product with a variable fineness. Depending on the deposit and the processing route, it contains:
| Component | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Gold | 60–95 % |
| Silver | 5–35 % |
| Impurities (Cu, Pb, Zn …) | < 5 % |
The amount of gold and silver recoverable from a doré bar depends on its exact fineness, which is determined before refining by taking an assay sample.
From the mine shaft to the market
- Ore extraction — mining by open pit or underground (primary mining).
- Processing — grinding, flotation, leaching; the precious metals are brought into solution.
- Smelting — precipitation and melting into a doré bar right on the mine site.
- Transport & assay — secure transport to the refinery; sampling establishes the precise content.
- Refining — electrochemical or chemical refining yields fine gold (999.9) and fine silver.
- Trading — the refined metal feeds bullion bars, coins and industrial applications; the current gold price and silver price serve as the settlement basis.
Significance for the gold market
Around 90 % of annual mine output reaches refineries as doré bars. The gap between the spot price of fine gold and the refining costs (treatment and refining charges, TC/RC) determines the revenue side for the mining company. Using the Melt Value Calculator, you can estimate the notional metal value of a raw bar from its weight and fineness.
Doré bars are not an object of trade for private investors — they meet neither the LBMA Good Delivery requirements nor the conditions for tax-favoured investment gold. For the price trajectory shown in historical precious-metal prices, however, they are a central supply-side quantity.
In brief
Doré bars form the link between mine production and the fine-metal market: only after refining at an accredited refinery does the tradeable fine metal emerge — the metal that tracks the global gold price.