LBMA Good Delivery

The LBMA Good Delivery standard is the most important quality mark in professional precious-metals trading. Bars that meet this standard are accepted without further inspection on the London gold market and at all major international trading venues — they are, in effect, the "trading currency" among institutional investors, central banks and wholesalers.

What does Good Delivery mean?

"Good Delivery" literally means fit for delivery — a bar carrying this status is immediately tradeable without additional testing or re-melting. The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), founded in 1987 as the self-regulating body of London's leading precious-metals dealers, maintains the Good Delivery List — whose essentials are far older — and records the rules in the Good Delivery Rules for Gold and Silver Bars, which are updated regularly.

The standard defines precise requirements in four areas:

1. Fineness — the minimum purity of the metal
2. Weight and dimensions — tight tolerances for mass and shape
3. Marking — mandatory details every bar must bear
4. Origin — only accredited refiners 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 central-bank vaults and in clearing transactions across the LBMA system. The seemingly wide weight tolerances stem 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:

• Refiner's 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 refiner mark allows seamless traceability of every bar — an essential feature for authenticity testing and for anti-money-laundering compliance.

The LBMA Good Delivery List

The heart of the system is the Good Delivery List — a publicly accessible reference list of all accredited refiners worldwide. Being added to this list is a demanding, multi-stage process:

1. The refiner submits sample bars.
2. Independent LBMA-accredited assessors (known as Referees) analyse fineness, weight, dimensions and surface.
3. On passing, a probationary period under observation follows.
4. A re-examination (proactive monitoring) is required every five years.

Renowned refiners such as Heraeus, Umicore, PAMP Suisse, Valcambi and the Perth Mint appear on this list. Inclusion is regarded across the industry as a first-rank quality seal.

Significance for spot price and the LBMA Fixing

The LBMA Fixing — the reference price set twice daily for gold and once for silver — is based exclusively on transactions in Good Delivery bars. This ties the Good Delivery standard directly to the spot price: when the media quote "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 oz × 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, at a gold price of around EUR 90,000 per kilogram, represents a value of some EUR 1.1 million — well beyond usual retail investments. Private investors instead buy 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) and funds that hold physically backed gold store, without exception, Good Delivery bars 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 followed in 2018. Refiners must demonstrate annually that their raw metal does not originate in conflict zones and that no human-rights abuses exist in the supply chain. This framework is aligned with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for mineral supply chains.

A Good Delivery bar therefore carries a statement not only 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-metals trading: it defines which bars are tradeable without further inspection, which refiners count as trustworthy and on what basis the daily gold price is set. Whether you follow the silver price or the gold price, you are always operating in a market whose foundation is this standard.