❓ Mr. Love questions the Premier about when he was informed of compliance failures at Gold Corporation, specifically regarding gold doping allegations. The Premier responds, stating he was informed after the Four Corners report and outlines the issue with silver content in gold bars sent to the Shanghai Gold Exchange.
AnsweredQoN 101Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
GOLD CORPORATION — GOLD BAR CONTENT
101. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Premier:
I
refer to revelations exposed by Four Corners on Monday, 6 March
regarding compliance failures at Gold Corporation and allegations of
gold doping.
(1) Does the
Premier stand by his claims that he was not informed of gold doping failures at
Gold Corporation until Monday, 6 March on the Four Corners show?
(2) How is it
acceptable that the Premier was not informed when the Minister for Mines and
Petroleum was informed in January 2022, 14 months earlier?
101. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Premier:
I
refer to revelations exposed by Four Corners on Monday, 6 March
regarding compliance failures at Gold Corporation and allegations of
gold doping.
(1) Does the
Premier stand by his claims that he was not informed of gold doping failures at
Gold Corporation until Monday, 6 March on the Four Corners show?
(2) How is it
acceptable that the Premier was not informed when the Minister for Mines and
Petroleum was informed in January 2022, 14 months earlier?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
watched the last half, perhaps, of the Four Corners program on the night
that it was on. The next day I contacted the CEO of the Gold Corporation to get
his advice on all the matters; I had a couple of phone conversations with him.
He advised me that there had been a review of all the briefing notes and advice
provided to government in relation to these issues, and that I had not been
informed in relation to the matters in question. That is certainly my
recollection.
In
terms of the actual issue, I just want everyone to understand that Western Australia's
gold that goes through the Perth Mint complies with international standards. It
is 99.99 per cent gold. It is alloyed, as every gold bar in history has been,
with other materials for the remaining 0.01 per cent of the gold bar. The
alloying normally involves a combination of silver, lead and copper, I am
advised. It is 99.99 per cent gold and the remaining 0.01 per cent is a combination
of those three metals. The Shanghai Gold Exchange has a unique requirement—that
it only likes half of that 0.01 per cent to be silver and it likes the other
half of that 0.01 per cent to be either copper or lead. What happened in terms of some gold bars that went up
there is that there was more than 0.005 per cent silver; in fact, it was 0.007 per
cent silver, as opposed to 0.005 per cent silver. In other words, there was a tiny bit more silver than copper or
lead, which was not in compliance with what it normally expects. I am advised
that for other gold exchanges around the world, that amount of silver is fine.
That is the issue that was identified. It is called alloying. I want to repeat:
the gold that the Western Australian Perth Mint provides is 99.99 per cent gold. When the issue was
identified of the amount of silver in the remaining 0.01 per cent in I think
two, three or four gold bars, it was rectified. Therefore, all the gold sent to
the Shanghai Gold Exchange—I am advised there has been tonnes since the
events in question were identified back in 2021—has complied with the
unique requirements of the Shanghai Gold Exchange.
watched the last half, perhaps, of the Four Corners program on the night
that it was on. The next day I contacted the CEO of the Gold Corporation to get
his advice on all the matters; I had a couple of phone conversations with him.
He advised me that there had been a review of all the briefing notes and advice
provided to government in relation to these issues, and that I had not been
informed in relation to the matters in question. That is certainly my
recollection.
In
terms of the actual issue, I just want everyone to understand that Western Australia's
gold that goes through the Perth Mint complies with international standards. It
is 99.99 per cent gold. It is alloyed, as every gold bar in history has been,
with other materials for the remaining 0.01 per cent of the gold bar. The
alloying normally involves a combination of silver, lead and copper, I am
advised. It is 99.99 per cent gold and the remaining 0.01 per cent is a combination
of those three metals. The Shanghai Gold Exchange has a unique requirement—that
it only likes half of that 0.01 per cent to be silver and it likes the other
half of that 0.01 per cent to be either copper or lead. What happened in terms of some gold bars that went up
there is that there was more than 0.005 per cent silver; in fact, it was 0.007 per
cent silver, as opposed to 0.005 per cent silver. In other words, there was a tiny bit more silver than copper or
lead, which was not in compliance with what it normally expects. I am advised
that for other gold exchanges around the world, that amount of silver is fine.
That is the issue that was identified. It is called alloying. I want to repeat:
the gold that the Western Australian Perth Mint provides is 99.99 per cent gold. When the issue was
identified of the amount of silver in the remaining 0.01 per cent in I think
two, three or four gold bars, it was rectified. Therefore, all the gold sent to
the Shanghai Gold Exchange—I am advised there has been tonnes since the
events in question were identified back in 2021—has complied with the
unique requirements of the Shanghai Gold Exchange.
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