The phrase “LBMA Good Delivery” appears on most reputable bullion dealer websites. It’s the closest thing the international bullion market has to a quality certification — and it shapes the premiums retail UK buyers actually pay.

What LBMA is

The London Bullion Market Association is the trade body that governs over-the-counter trading of gold and silver in London — historically the world’s primary wholesale precious-metals market. The LBMA publishes:

  • The LBMA Gold Price and LBMA Silver Price (the twice-daily auction “fixes” that set institutional benchmark prices).
  • The Good Delivery List of accredited refiners.
  • Trading rules and conventions used by every major dealer worldwide.

What “Good Delivery” means

To get on the LBMA Good Delivery List, a refiner has to:

  1. Produce a minimum tonnage of refined gold or silver per year (currently ~10 tonnes gold / 30 tonnes silver).
  2. Pass annual independent assay tests proving they hit stated fineness consistently.
  3. Maintain a clean assay record over a long observation period.
  4. Submit to ongoing surveillance.

A bar struck by a Good Delivery refiner can be accepted by any other Good Delivery counterparty without re-assay. That’s the practical effect: it’s a global mutual-trust system that lets institutional bullion flow without having to re-test every kilo every time it changes hands.

The refiners that matter for UK retail buyers

You’ll see Good Delivery bars from:

  • The Royal Mint (UK)
  • PAMP Suisse (Switzerland)
  • Metalor (Switzerland)
  • Heraeus (Germany)
  • Argor-Heraeus (Switzerland)
  • Umicore (Belgium)
  • Valcambi (Switzerland)
  • Perth Mint (Australia)
  • Royal Canadian Mint (Canada)
  • Rand Refinery (South Africa — Krugerrand)

When a UK bullion dealer says “we only stock LBMA-accredited refiners”, they mean their bars are all from this list. That’s a strong signal of quality — but it’s also why the dealer charges what they charge: non-Good-Delivery bars would trade at a discount.

Browse bars by brand →

Why it matters for premiums

Two identical-looking 1oz gold bars can have different resale values purely because of refiner reputation.

  • A PAMP Fortuna 1oz bar will resell at near-spot at any UK dealer in five minutes.
  • A no-name 1oz “999 gold” bar from an unknown refiner will need to be re-assayed — and even after passing, dealers will pay 3–5% below the spot price they’d pay for the PAMP bar.

That gap is the resale premium of Good Delivery branding. It’s why most experienced UK stackers stick to a short list of LBMA-accredited refiners even when cheaper alternatives exist.

Does it apply to coins?

Sort of. Coins aren’t on the Good Delivery List — the list is for bars only. But the mints that produce major bullion coins (Royal Mint, US Mint, Royal Canadian Mint, Perth Mint, Austrian Mint, Rand Refinery) are typically also LBMA Good Delivery refiners for their bar products. The institutional reputation extends to their coins.

How to check

The official LBMA Good Delivery List is published at lbma.org.uk. You can search by refiner name to confirm current status.

A dealer claim of “LBMA-accredited” should always be verifiable against the official list — if it isn’t, treat the claim with caution.