The India Government Mint (IGM), Mumbai recently launched the country’s first-ever indigineously developed gold purity standard, the Bharatiya Nirdeshak Dravya-4201, which is the reference material for gold of ‘9999’ fineness (gold that is 99.99 per cent pure).

Similar reference material for standards for gold of lower purity which is available in the market will also be launched soon, the IGM said. This indigenous reference material will be beneficial to the consumers and public at large, will reduce the industry’s dependence on imported reference gold bars in line with the Make in India thrust of the government, while saving foreign exchange, the mint said in a statement.

BND-4201 standard has been developed through collaboration between IGM, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, National Physical Laboratory (New Delhi) and National Centre for Compositional Characterisation of Materials (Hyderabad).

The reference will now be used by hallmarking and testing centres which can shift their methodology from the current assaying method, which is not environmentally friendly, to use of instrumentation, the IGM statement noted.

According to officials of the Mint and other bodies involved with the project, as the measurement of the high purity BND-4201 is traceable to SI units (International System of Units), it can also be accepted by other countries and aid exporters. However, it is reported that the standard will only gain greater acceptance after it has been ratified by international labs and other official bodies.

Currently, media reports state that MMTC Pamp, the only LBMA accredited Indian refiner, uses certified reference material from the US.

It is believed that this is an important first step in increasing transparency in the gold bullion and jewellery trade and will aid the worldwide acceptance of Indian hallmarking.