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 and subsequently processed to fine-metal quality at a refinery.
Doré bars (from the French doré = gilded) are the immediate product of pyrometallurgical processing at gold and silver mines. After the barren rock has been broken down by cyanide leaching or other methods, the enriched precious metals are melted down and cast into raw bars on site. These bars leave the mine and travel to the refinery, where they are refined to a tradeable fine-metal quality (≥ 995‰ for LBMA Good Delivery, often up to 999.9‰ fine gold).
Composition and production
A doré bar is not a pure precious metal but an intermediate product with a variable fineness. Depending on the deposit and the processing method, it contains:
| Constituent | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Gold | 60–95 % |
| Silver | 5–35 % |
| Impurities (Cu, Pb, Zn …) | < 5 % |
The yield of gold and silver from a doré bar depends on the exact fineness, which is determined by sampling (assay) before refining.
The path from mine shaft to market
- Ore extraction – mining in open pit or underground (primary production).
- Processing – grinding, flotation, leaching; the precious metals are brought into solution.
- Smelting – precipitation and melting into the doré bar directly on the mine site.
- Transport & assay – secure transport to the refinery; sampling determines the exact content.
- Refining – electrochemical or chemical refining yields fine gold (999.9) and fine silver.
- Trade – the refined metal flows into bullion bars, coins or industrial applications; the current gold price and silver price serve as the settlement basis.
Significance for the gold market
Around 90% of annual mine production reaches the refineries as doré bars. The difference between the spot price of fine gold and the refining costs (treatment & refining charges, TC/RC) determines the revenue side for the mining company. With the melt value calculator you can estimate the notional metal value of a raw bar based on weight and fineness.
Doré bars are not a trading object for private investors — they meet neither the LBMA Good Delivery requirements nor the conditions for VAT-exempt investment gold. For the price trend of historical precious-metal prices, however, they are a central supply factor.
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 that corresponds to the global gold price.