A dated, source-rated feed across standards, regulation, market, ASM, enforcement, technology and data. Each entry is rated for how well it is corroborated.
The US Treasury designated the refinery and its principals on 25 June 2026 for refining and exporting gold from M23-controlled areas of the DRC (at least 60 kg moved in early 2026), following the 2022 Alain Goetz/African Gold Refinery precedent.
At its June 2026 summit, LBMA opened the public consultation on Responsible Gold Guidance v10 (integrating the ASM Toolkit, updating the recycled-gold definition, extending disclosures) and published the report Supporting Pathways for Responsible ASM on 17 June (per LBMA channels).
The Central Bank Gold Reserves Survey 2026, published 16 June, covered a record 76 central banks: 89% expect global gold reserves to rise and a record 45% expect their own holdings to rise.
The DRC formalisation venture, active in Ituri since 2013 with about 11 cooperatives (about 25,000 miners and support workers, self-reported), signed a deal on 11 June with UK-based SigraFi providing revolving working capital against deliveries.
Commodity, currency, crime (8 June) frames illicit gold as one of the most consequential criminal markets and a conflict-finance backbone, and calls for mandatory due diligence and scrutiny of International Bullion Centres.
Per SBG (unaudited), published 21 April 2026: 5,335 kg exported in 2025, 27 accredited Step 2/3 mines, 11 in Step 1 and 10 mines suspended during the year; the premium stands at USD 1.35/g.
On 15 April, HRW, IMPACT, Swissaid, The Sentry and four other NGOs publicly urged the Responsible Jewellery Council to require red-flag supplier disclosure matching LBMA Disclosure Guidance v3; no response documented from RJC.
The WGC/ICMM/Copper Mark/MAC-TSM consolidation published its Final Consultation Report on 12 March (3,400+ comments from 120 stakeholders) but had still not launched as of 2026-07-03, its H1 2026 target passed; a civil-society coalition argues the standard is too weak, and CMSI has published responses.
The mine-site ESG standard became ISEAL Code Compliant on 16 February 2026 while its v2.0 approval remains pending. Zero primary gold mines were audited or in audit as of 2026-07-02; gold remains a PGM by-product at IRMA-assessed sites.
LBMA invoked its Incident Review Process on 11 February over FT-reported suspected fraud in the Hanau recycling business (German prosecutors, roughly 2015-2025); Heraeus has disclosed EUR 457.7m in provisions (per Heraeus) and remains a Good Delivery refiner while the review runs.
Announced 21 January and operational in February 2026: Rand Refinery supervises Ghana’s Gold Coast Refinery to refine up to 1,000 kg/week of ASM doré under a GoldBod agreement.
From 1 January, Disclosure Guidance v3 brings comply-or-explain disclosure of red-flag-location counterparties, WGC member mine suppliers and all source countries; the Good Delivery Rules 2026 edition bans non-roman lettering in new serial numbers.
The consultation on the IFSCA Good Delivery Guidelines 2025 for IIBX delivery, with responsible-sourcing and CAHRA criteria, closed on 31 December; finalisation was unconfirmed as of 2026-07.
The December 2025 deliveries ran on xTrace, the product of the DLT firm that provides the LBMA/WGC Gold Bar Integrity database.
The 9 December Council-Parliament deal cut the directive’s scope to companies with 5,000+ employees and EUR 1.5bn turnover, with a tier-1 focus; first obligations are expected in July 2028.
Ghana’s gold board announced procurement of a blockchain system to track "every gram" of ASM gold by end-2026, a timeline that had already slipped once as of mid-2026; the winning vendor is not yet known (date approximate to the month).
COP-6 (Geneva, 3-7 November) asked the Secretariat to explore supply-chain transparency and certification to cut mercury use in ASGM, and requested a COP-7 report on National Action Plan implementation.
Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/2071, adopted 16 October, makes RMAP (including its gold standard) the first scheme recognised under the EU CMR; recognition covers RMAP-audited facilities only, not cross-recognised ones.
Invoked 9 October after Turkish authorities detained 21 people, including the main shareholder, over alleged export-incentive fraud (about US$540m in exports, about US$12.5m in state losses); the refiner retains Good Delivery status while the review runs.
The 8 October milestone capped a year of 53 all-time price highs; per WGC/Metals Focus, FY2025 demand exceeded 5,000 t including OTC, about US$555bn.
The 2 October investigation links 12+ Dubai firms to the Hemedti family, including at least 4 gold traders, and estimates more than US$850m in RSF gold from 2024 to early 2025 (Sentry estimate); no response documented from the named firms.
Swiss Better Gold announced a sourcing model built around processing plants in Peru (per SBG).
Support announced 11 July under the EGPS umbrella, alongside MSPI phase 1 (2023-2025) piloting model small-scale gold mines in West Africa and the Sahel.
The SECO public-private partnership ended on 1 July 2025; a SECO successor programme (2025-2029, CHF 5.87M) continues challenge-fund, policy and knowledge work.