Granules
Also: Shot, Grains, Pellets
Granules are small, irregular grains or beads of precious metal produced by pouring melt into water, used mainly as an industrial and processing material.
Granules are one of the oldest and most practical supply forms for precious metals in industry. In so-called quench granulation, liquid metal is poured in a thin stream into a water bath: the melt breaks into small droplets that solidify instantly and thereby take on their characteristic round to kidney-shaped form. The result is loose, free-flowing grains ideally suited to machine dosing and further processing.
Areas of use
Granules are used wherever precious metals have to be melted or precisely dosed:
- Jewellery manufacture - gold granules (usually 999.9 ‰) are added to the alloying crucible to produce carat alloys.
- Dentistry - dental alloys are melted from precisely weighed granules.
- Electronics industry - fine granules of silver or palladium serve as the raw material for conductive pastes and contacts.
- Refinery & refining - delivered scrap gold or broken gold is granulated for analysis and reprocessing, because grains allow a homogeneous sample.
- Coin production - coin blanks are made from standardised granules by rolling and stamping.
Advantages over bars
| Property | Granules | Bar |
|---|---|---|
| Dosing accuracy | very high (gravimetric) | limited |
| Melting speed | fast (large surface) | slower |
| Transport & storage | pourable, space-saving | stackable, dimensionally stable |
| Trading premium | low to none | variable by denomination |
| Investor suitability | low | high |
You can call up the current gold price live at any time as the basis for the material value; you can conveniently determine the fine-weight share of your granules with the melt value calculator.
Manufacture & fineness
Commercial precious metal granules are offered by refineries such as Heraeus, Umicore or Valcambi in finenesses of 999 ‰ (fine silver) and 999.9 ‰ (fine gold). The fineness is stated on the delivery note or analysis certificate; an own density check by the Archimedes method or an X-ray fluorescence analysis can be used for verification.
Fine weight [g] = gross weight [g] x fineness [‰] / 1000
Tax note (Malta)
In Malta, investment gold is VAT-exempt (Directive 2006/112/EC; bars of at least 995‰, coins of at least 900‰). Whether fine gold granules (shot/grains) fall under this investment gold exemption depends on the specific form and tradability and is assessed differently from refinery to refinery - in case of doubt VAT liability at the 18% Maltese standard rate applies. For fine silver and platinum granules the 18% Maltese standard VAT rate always applies. On disposal, Malta levies no capital gains tax on private disposals of movable assets such as precious metals. Notes on gains and holding are not tax or investment advice - please consult a tax adviser on this.
In brief
Granules are the preferred industrial form for precious metals when rapid melting, precise dosing and flexible batch sizes are required. They are hardly suitable for private investors, since presentation and tradability are markedly limited compared to bars and coins.