# Is there a list of banned countries for gold?



## godavis1 (Feb 22, 2013)

If one's intention is to sell gold (dore bars, nuggets), to refiners in the US, especially NY, -- is there a list of countries that are generally considered "banned". I was told that various countries (especially the 9 countries that border Democratic Republic of Congo, and the DRC itself) are banned for reasons similar to the blood diamond issue in various coutries in Africa. I was told that large retailers like Walmart, Kay Jewelers, etc, require their manufacturers of Gold Jewelry, and Gold products to delcare that the origin of their gold products are not from one of these banned countries. So is this true that refiners that supply Gold to those who sell to big retailers have a list of banned coutries. If so, then what countries are on that list? 

thanks in advance to all for your assistance!

--GD


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## Palladium (Feb 22, 2013)

http://www.gold.org/about_gold/sustainability/conflict_free_standard/


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## godavis1 (Feb 22, 2013)

Dear Palladium:

I read over the document you linked me to from the World Gold Council. It mentions that at the heart of the issue of Conflict-related gold is the DRC and the countries that border it -- specifically the names are:

the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
the Republic of Congo
the Central African Republic 
South Sudan
Uganda
Rwanda
Burundi, 
Tanzania 
Zambia 
Angola

So thus is it safe to conclude that American refiners would not take product (for refining and then purchase by the refinery for resale), whose origin were one of these ten countries? Is this the norm?

Thanks again in advance for your response and any responses from others as well.

--GD


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## Palladium (Feb 22, 2013)

As far as i know their is no law that says i can't refine gold from there. It's just some more saber rattling from the industry. The only thing i might see trouble with is import. Other than that i don't think their is a governing body that stops me from refining it.


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## Iprefere18K (Mar 23, 2015)

Uganda? Are you sure?


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## vintage49 (Jun 8, 2015)

There is no ban on gold from Uganda, as long as seller can provide documentation for Cert of origin, export license, etc. Uganda is not a big producer/exporter, so if one was importing MT's from Uganda at this time, there could be some questions. OECD and LBMA put the requirements of authenticity on the refinery first. If they can't prove where the gold came from, they could have problems.


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