250 gram Argor-Heraeus Cast Gold Bar

The process to  manufacture a  cast  gold bar starts  by heating  gold  material  in a furnace until it turns to a molten slurry. During the heating process, all unwanted impurities in the slurry  are removed  until  only  molten  gold  of  high  purity  is  left,  most  often  at around 99.99%. The refined gold is cooled and then either converted into gold granules or small gold bits. Either of these forms is weighed and adjusted according to the required weight of the desired cast gold bar and is then placed in an iron cast mold. The mold is put into a furnace which melts the small pieces of gold inside the iron cast mold. After the gold has melted, the molds are cooled and the gold solidifies inside. The result is a cast bar. These newly cast gold bars are then inspected and weighed. The bars that pass the test are cleaned and inserted into a hydraulic press that applies the needed marks on the top side of the cast gold bar.  

Investors  need  to  take  into  consideration  that  unlike  minted  bars  which  are  created  from uniform gold panels and have even surfaces, the surface of a cast bar is sometimes rough and uneven. This makes them a perfect choice for those who like to handle and “feel” their gold bars since the re-sale value is not affected by mild scratches or dents. 

Argor-Heraeus is one of Switzerland’s and the world’s largest precious metals refineries. Argor-Heraeus is located near the Italian border, and also to the locations of two of Switzerland’s other giant precious metals refineries - Valcambi and PAMP. This refinery is jointly owned by the Austrian Mint, German industrial and precious metals group Heraeus, German commercial bank Commerzbank, and Argor-Heraeus management.

Argor-Heraeus traces its routes back to the establishment of the Argor SA refinery in 1951 in Chiasso in the Swiss Canton of Ticino. The Argor-Heraeus group employs approximately 320 people. The group’s headquarters and precious metals refinery are located in Mendrisio, Switzerland.

The Argor-Heraeus refinery in Mendrisio processes and refines gold, silver, platinum and palladium from mining sources, scrap / recyclable sources and also transforms good delivery bars into smaller bars. The refinery refines gold up to 99.99% and 99.999% purities, silver up to 99.9%, and platinum and palladium 99.95%. Argor-Heraeus’ customer base from over 50 countries, including mining companies, trading houses, bullion banks central and commercial banks, mints, jewellery and watch companies and industrial consumers.

According to its 2014 corporate responsibility report, the Argor-Heraeus refinery has an annual gold refining capacity of 350 – 400 tonnes. Like all Swiss precious metals refineries, licensed assayers (essayeurs jurés), accredited by the Swiss Central Office for Precious Metals Control, work with the Argor-Heraeus refinery to ensure that the precious metals assays of the metals output from the refinery meet the strict quality standards laid down by the Office for Precious Metals Control.

Argor-Heraeus is one of only five refinery members of the London Bullion Market Associations (LBMA) good delivery referee panel, which assists the LBMA is maintaining quality standards of refinery members worldwide. Argor-Heraeus is also a full member of the LBMA. Argor-Heraeus wholesale gold bars have been accredited as good delivery since 1961, while its silver bars have been good delivery since 1961.

Argor-Heraeus is also a member of “Association Suisse des Fabricants et Commerçants de Métaux Précieux” (ASFCMP), the Swiss Association of Precious Metals Manufacturers and Traders.

Tavex Group is official dealer of Argor-Heraeus since 2023.