Flawed Newspaper Article causes Perth Mint to Suspend All ASM Gold
By Shawn Blore - June 16, 2020
A June 11 article in the Australian Financial Review that incorrectly labelled artisanal gold from Papua New Guinea as conflict gold has caused the Perth Mint to temporarily suspend all purchases of ASM gold. According to a statement released in the name of the chair of Gold Corporation, Sam Walsh, the Perth Mint is suspending ASM gold purchases pending the results of an independent third-party review of the Perth Mint’s audit processes.
“Effective immediately as part of this process, The Perth Mint has suspended relationships with all companies and aggregators dealing with ASM,” said Mr. Walsh.
In a June 16 blog post, the Artisanal Gold Council noted that the Australian Financial Review’s characterization of ASM gold from Papua New Guinea was incorrect, and called on the newspaper to correct its error.
The Artisanal Gold Council is monitoring field gold prices to see what impact the article and the Perth Mint’s decision will have on the livelihoods of thousands of artisanal miners.