A press release from Rand Refinery in Germiston, South Africa (12 miles east of Johannesburg) has disclosed that a recent computer system upgrade uncovered 87,000 ounces of gold missing from what was originally believed to be held in inventory.That's about $113,000,000 worth of gold, based on current prices.
Rand Refinery shareholders AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., Sibanye Gold Ltd., and Harmony Gold Mining Co. have made arrangements to loan the refinery 1.2 billion rand (about 114 million dollars) to make up the difference.
Chief Executive Officer Howard Craig resigned in May and was replaced by Mark Lynam, who is also working with a management consulting firm to help resolve the problem.
As Africa's largest gold mine, Rand has refined more than 50,000 metric tonnes of gold since 1920. Mines transport raw gold of about 80% purity to the refinery which is then refined to near 100% purity.
James Wellested, a spokesman for Sibanye Gold has said that they believe this discrepancy is due to an accounting problem and not the result of theft. The company has been unable to finalize its 2013 totals because of the issue.
Until we find out what really happened with the missing 87,000 ounces of gold, it is unknown if this will affect the global gold market.
Rand Refinery is Africa's largest gold refinery and the official gold supplier for the South African Treasury and Reserve Bank. Since 1967, Rand has been the source for gold used in Krugerrands, the most popular gold coin in the world.All gold produced by Rand is "responsible gold" which adheres to the strict guidelines set forth by the OECD's (Organization of Economic Co-Operation and Development) "Due Diligence Guidelines for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict Affected and High Risk Areas".
"Responsible gold" means that extra care is taken to ensure the company does not deal in "conflict gold" and that all refining is conducted in a manner that is not harmful to the environment or the local community.
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