Umicore
Also: Union Minière, Umicore Precious Metals Refining
Umicore is a Belgian technology group and one of the world's leading precious-metal refiners, whose bars and coin blanks are accredited to LBMA Good Delivery.
Umicore is a Belgian materials-technology and recycling group headquartered in Brussels and one of the most important refineries in the world. The company's history goes back to 1906, when the Union Minière du Haut Katanga was founded. After several restructurings and its withdrawal from mining, the company has traded under the name Umicore since 2001. Today it is known above all for its precious-metal refinery in Hoboken near Antwerp — one of the most powerful recycling and refining sites in the world.
Precious-metal refining and accreditation
The Hoboken refinery site processes an exceptionally broad spectrum of input materials: from doré bars from gold mines and electronic scrap to dental-gold alloys and catalytic converters. Umicore is regarded as a pioneer of so-called urban mining — the recovery of valuable metals from industrial waste streams.
Crucial for buyers of bars and investment precious metals: Umicore is accredited by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) as a Good Delivery refiner for gold and silver. This means bars from Hoboken meet the strictest international purity and weight standards and are traded on professional bullion markets without re-assay.
Product range for private investors
Umicore markets a broad range of investment products under the brand Umicore Precious Metals Refining:
| Product | Metal | Typical denominations |
|---|---|---|
| Cast bars | Gold | 1 g – 1 kg |
| Minted bars (credit-card format) | Gold | 1 g – 100 g |
| Silver bars | Silver | 100 g – 1,000 g |
| Coin blanks | Gold, silver, platinum | to order |
The minted bars usually bear an embossed hologram and an individual serial number that allows unambiguous traceability. Each bar is supplied with an assay certificate documenting weight, fineness and serial number.
Sustainability and responsible sourcing
A core feature of Umicore is the high proportion of secondary material in the melt feed. Around half of the processed input comes from recycling sources — electronic scrap, industrial residues and old jewellery. The company publishes regular sustainability reports and has committed to the responsible sourcing framework, which aims to exclude conflict minerals and unethical supply chains.
For investors who value the origin of their precious metal, Umicore certification therefore offers double assurance: technical purity to LBMA standard and a documented, responsible supply chain.
Authenticating Umicore bars
Genuine Umicore bars can be verified by several methods:
- Serial-number check — comparison on the Umicore website or with an authorised dealer.
- Hologram inspection — tilt effect and colour change on minted bars.
- Weight check — precision scales, deviation max. ±0.05 g on small bars (with the melt value calculator the material value can be cross-checked).
- Density check — the Archimedean principle rules out tungsten counterfeits.
- XRF / Sigma Metalytics — X-ray fluorescence or eddy-current testing at the precious-metal dealer.
The portal's coin authenticity check offers supplementary guidance for standard products.
Umicore compared with other refiners
Alongside Umicore, Heraeus (Germany), PAMP Suisse (Switzerland), Valcambi (Switzerland) and Argor-Heraeus (Switzerland) are among the best-known LBMA-accredited names. All produce trade-fine investment gold (999.9 ‰) and silver (999 ‰). The difference lies less in quality than in design, market presence and each firm's focus: Umicore is especially strong in recycling and the industrial precious-metals cycle, while PAMP and Valcambi are better known for elaborately finished collector pieces.
In brief
Umicore bars stand for LBMA-certified quality, high traceability and a strong focus on sustainable recycling — a solid choice for investors who value verified origin and international market access.