Rand Refinery

As a country with rich precious metal deposits, South Africa has more mines than most other countries in the world. As early as 1920, a merger of the operators of those mines led to the decision to found Rand Refinery. One year later the first buildings of the refinery were completed. To this day, it is the world's largest single-site refining and minting plant.

An eventful history

Today Rand Refinery is one of the most important minting and precious metal processing facilities in the world. But the road to this position has not always been easy. As early as 1921, Rand Refinery was certified by the London Bullion Market Association for its 400 oz ingots as being of good minting quality.

An important step for a refinery to be able to place its products on the market. In 1967 the refinery was commissioned by the South African state to produce and purchase Krugerrand worldwide. Twelve years later, in 1988, due to the apartheid policy in South Africa, the USA and the European Community impose an import ban on the Krugerrand, which lasts until 1999.

Trade and possession of the coins remain permitted. After the end of apartheid in 1990 and the embargo nine years later, the Rand Refinery again developed into one of the most important mints and refineries worldwide and has remained so until today.

The Krugerrand - The most popular bullion coin worldwide

The most important task of the Rand Refinery - besides the production of bars from the rich deposits of South Africa - is the production of the Krugerrand (or "Krugerrand" in Afrikaans and English), probably the most popular gold coin in the world. The characteristic design with the springbok and the portrait of Paul Kruger is almost symbolic of modern bullions.

When it was introduced in 1967, the Krugerrand was the first modern bullion coin. In addition to this special feature, the South African coin also differs from other investment gold coins in other ways. For example, the Krugerrand has no face value, although the coin is a recognised means of payment.

The value of the coins always correlates with the current gold price. It is therefore not fixed at a specific amount, as is otherwise the case with regular means of payment. In addition, the Krugerrand was the first investment coin to be minted in the weight of an ounce or denominations thereof.

Last but not least, it is the composition and the colour that make the Krugerrand a special coin. The colour is due to the relatively high proportion of copper, which is added to the gold alloy to increase the scratch resistance of the coin. Due to the alloy content, the fineness of the Krugerrand is 91.67%, which corresponds to a value of 22 carat gold.

Today the Krugerrand is the most traded bullion coin in the world. Investors buy Krugerrand to diversify their portfolios, for many enthusiasts the different vintages and sizes are an incentive to include the Krugerrand in your collection. The high level of distribution also makes it easier for investors to find dealers and investors to sell Krugerrand to.