The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) has released its latest Country of Origin (CoO) data, offering a seven-year view of sourcing patterns reported by Good Delivery List (GDL) refiners. The 2024 data shows broadly stable gold sourcing, a 3% decline in reported silver volumes and a continued dominance of recycled material.
Reported gold sourcing reached 5,536 tonnes, up 3% year on year. Mined gold fell 5% to 1,782 tonnes, while reported recycling rose 7% to 3,755 tonnes.
Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) gold was a notable growth area. Reported volumes rose 24% to 54.6 tonnes from 44 tonnes in 2023. Bolivia contributed 18 tonnes, Peru 16 tonnes and the Philippines 8 tonnes. However, Metals Focus estimates global ASM production at around 845 tonnes, highlighting that the LBMA data captures only a portion of the wider market.
Silver sourcing moved in the opposite direction. LBMA refiners reported 14,561 tonnes of mined silver and 18,885 tonnes of recycled material, taking the combined total to 33,446 tonnes, down 3% from 2023.
Country-level movements underline the complexity of tracing precious metals. China’s reported gold recycling rose 190 tonnes to 908 tonnes, while Switzerland remained the largest individual European source at 743 tonnes. In silver, China’s reported mining volume jumped 2,212 tonnes to 5,272 tonnes despite Metals Focus estimating a slight decline in Chinese mine production.