Heraeus certified as a refiner of conflict-free gold products by the London Bullion Market Association
Precious metals and technology group Heraeus (http://heraeus-precious-metals.com/) has been certified by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for the past business year 2013 as a refiner of conflict-free gold products in accordance with the standards of the London Bullion Market Association ( LBMA (http://www.lbma.org.uk/) ). The LBMA has set up a guidance system for gold which is mandatory for its members. It certifies that its members have no involvement in extracting the precious metal from regions affected by armed conflicts or serious violations of human rights. Argor Heraeus is accordingly also being independently certified. Since the financial year 2012, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) conducts annual audits with Heraeus, among others in Hanau (Germany), Hong Kong (China) and at the premises in Newark, NJ (USA).
Established Rules
PwC confirms that Heraeus´ internal rules comply with the LBMA requirements and in many cases even exceed them. The guidelines of Heraeus are not limited to Gold only but focus on all precious metals and additional special metals, particularly on the 3 T´s: tungsten, tin, and tantalum. The Responsible Gold audit confirms that the individual business units of Heraeus as well as its precious metals trade only use conflict-free products.
Mines audited
Heraeus uses a number of indicators to be able to exclude systematically contributing to conflicts, human rights violations, environmental pollution as well as child and forced labor worldwide. All mines Heraeus cooperates with have been audited in this regard, either by Heraeus itself or by independent audit firms. Heraeus also requests that its trading partners for precious metals confirm their compliance with this sourcing policy.
Background information: LBMA
The LBMA is an international organization setting trading standards as well as uniform conditions for its members with regard to the quality standards for gold and silver bullions. In addition to the physical product requirements, this also includes sustainability aspects. The OECD (http://www.oecd.org) (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) defines in its guidance the so-called conflict minerals and their handling in the supply chain of companies.
The conflicts caused by the extraction of raw materials around the Democratic Republic of Congo in central Africa were the reason for the LBMA in cooperation with the OECD to regulate the requirements for producers of so-called Good Delivery products, also regarding their sourcing.
The Hanau-based precious metal and technology group Heraeus is a globally active family-run enterprise with a history of more than 160 years. We provide high-end solutions to our customers to lastingly strengthen their competitive position. Our areas of competence include precious metals, materials and technologies, sensors, biomaterials and medical devices, quartz glass and specialty light sources. In the financial year 2013, Heraeus achieved a revenue from the sale of products of EUR3.6 bn, while the revenue from precious metal trading was EUR13.5 bn. With about 12,500 employees in more than 110 companies world-wide, Heraeus is in a leading position on its global sales markets.
Kontakt
Heraeus Precious Metals GmbH & Co. KG
Guido Matthes
Heraeusstr. 12-14
63450 Hanau
+49-6181.35 4583
guido.matthes@heraeus.com
http://www.heraeus-clevios.com
