MAGISTER OPERIS · COMMODITIES · PRECIOUS METALS

Owners — Gold, Precious Metals and Stones

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For owners of gold, precious metals and stones

Owners of gold, precious metals and stones, wherever they are: holders of metal or stones in custody, and mine and concession owners, cooperatives, licensed exporters and state enterprises.
Everything turns on one question: is the documentation bankable? When it is, the banks move fast.
Owners who simply want to sell are matched to the buyer that fits the lot.

Held under safekeeping receipt	The most readily bankable starting point. The safekeeping receipt (SKR) is verified directly with the issuing institution, and the steps at origin do not apply.
At the mine	More steps: verification at origin, export, secure transport and refining, as set out below.

Sale	Bought outright, paid on the fine metal the refinery recovers, at a price agreed before shipment.
Monetization	Value raised against the asset for project funding or investment, without an outright sale. Gold can be monetized at upwards of 100% loan-to-value. For every asset, the advance rests on its credibility and authenticity, its strength, and the use of funds. See Monetization & Trading.
Bond collateral	The asset backs green or ESG bonds, subject to the bond's environmental and social screening.
Mine expansion	The owner's monetized metal or stones become the collateral. The mine qualifies on its documentation: an independent resource report (JORC or NI 43-101), secure title, political-risk cover where the jurisdiction calls for it, and a proven management team. Funds are disbursed in draws against verified progress (Project Funding). Site security is arranged to the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights.
Stones	Not gold, and not valued like gold. Monetized for project funding under bankable conditions, with an insurance wrap where the owner's bank will not carry the value (Hard Assets). The advance rests on the same factors as any other asset.

1	Letter of request	On the owner's company letterhead, signed by the owner or an authorised officer: who the owner is, the situation, the history of the asset, the goals.
2	Review	No charge. States exactly what is missing.
3	Verification	A representative of the buying institution and a specialist from the secure-logistics carrier test the gold at origin. The owner pays their invoices directly, never through an intermediary; the cost is reimbursed at closing after a successful assay in Switzerland.
4	Export	Duties and royalties are paid as the country's law requires, on terms settled with the export authority, through a licensed exporter or state body where the law requires one.
5	Transport and refining	Collected at origin, insured in the owner's name, refined in Switzerland under the refinery's own provenance checks. Transport, insurance and refining are deducted at settlement.
6	Settlement	To the owner's bank, or to an optional Swiss account so payment moves ledger to ledger within one bank.

Collateral	Top-rated securities of at least three times the transaction value, evidenced to the owner's lawyer: a lawyer of standing with active professional indemnity (errors and omissions) cover.
Direct dealing	With the owner or the owner's lawyer. One introducing party, never a chain of brokers.
No advance fees	Apart from the verification visit, nothing is paid in advance for export papers, insurance, transport, testing, certificates or release of the asset.
Public authorities	No financial statements are asked of a government or state mining enterprise.

Each item is a record issued by someone other than the owner. Together they give the funding bank its comfort.

Origin	The mine, and the licence or registration it produced under.
Movement	Customs papers for every border from the mine to today.
Duties	Taxes and royalties paid to date, with filings.
Ownership	Company registration; ultimate owners identified to the owner's lawyer.
The lot	Metal: weight, form and a recent accredited assay. Stones: count, carats and laboratory certificates; Kimberley Process certificate for rough diamonds.
Custody	Confirmed directly by whoever holds it.
Purchase funds	If bought rather than mined, where the money came from.
Enforceability	Security registered and valid under local law, with a local lawyer's written opinion on recourse if the borrower defaults.

Every operation is also assessed by specialists using proprietary modelling software.
Assembling the records is the owner's responsibility. Where an owner does not know how, the path can be arranged with Magister Operis on agreed terms.

Send the letter of request, or what exists so far, to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., from a company email address.
Value a gold lot first on the Deal Snapshot. The full document list is in Bank Compliance.
Magister Operis is paid at closing, on terms agreed in writing before a lot is presented.

Every engagement is governed by the firm's Method and Disclaimer; intermediaries should also review the firm's Due Diligence standards.