What Is Gold Doré?
Gold doré is a semi-pure alloy bar produced at a mine site, typically containing anywhere from roughly 60% to 95% gold, with the balance made up mostly of silver and small amounts of base metals. Doré is an intermediate product: it must be sent to a refinery and processed to investment-grade purity (usually 995.0 or 999.9 fineness) before it can be sold as bullion.
How Gold Doré Is Produced
When ore is processed at a mine, the recovered gold-bearing material is smelted on site into rough bars. This first smelt removes much of the rock and waste material, but it does not separate gold from the other precious and base metals recovered with it. The result is a doré bar — dense, unpolished and visibly rougher than a finished bullion bar.
The exact composition of a doré bar depends on the geology of the deposit. Bars from some mines may carry high silver content; others contain copper, zinc or trace platinum-group metals. Because composition varies bar by bar, every doré bar must be individually sampled and assayed before its value can be determined.
Doré vs Refined Bullion
| Doré gold | Refined bullion | |
|---|---|---|
| Purity | Variable, commonly 60–95% gold | 995.0 to 999.9 fineness |
| Produced by | Mine site smelter | Accredited refinery |
| Value basis | Assayed fine gold content, minus refining charges | Spot or benchmark price per troy ounce |
| Marketability | Sold to refineries and specialist traders | Banks, institutions, investors |
| Documentation | Mine origin, export permits, assay report | Refinery certificate, bar list |
How Doré Is Valued
Doré is never priced at face weight. Its value is calculated from its fine gold content — the actual quantity of pure gold the bar contains — established by a refinery assay after the material arrives and is melted and sampled.
A typical valuation works like this:
- Gross weight is recorded on arrival (for example, 10,000 grams).
- Assay determines purity (for example, 88.5% gold).
- Fine gold content = 10,000 g × 0.885 = 8,850 g of pure gold.
- Payable percentage is applied per the refining agreement (often 98–99.5% of fine content).
- Price is fixed against a benchmark such as the LBMA Gold Price, minus refining and treatment charges.
Example
A seller ships a 25 kg doré lot to a UAE refinery on a CIF basis. On arrival the lot is melted into a homogeneous bar and sampled. The assay returns 91.2% gold. Fine content is 22.8 kg. With a 99% payable rate and the LBMA price at the agreed fixing, the refinery settles the value of 22.57 kg of fine gold, less agreed refining charges, within the contractual settlement window.
Why Doré Matters in International Gold Trading
Doré is the form in which most newly mined gold first enters the international market. Refining hubs such as Dubai, Switzerland and India receive doré from producing regions, refine it to investment grade, and supply the refined bars onward to banks, jewellers and investors. For sellers, the commercial questions are always the same: verified origin, secure logistics, a credible refinery counterparty, and a settlement mechanism — often a documentary letter of credit — that protects both sides.
Key Takeaways
- Gold doré is a semi-pure mine-produced alloy bar, typically 60–95% gold with silver and base metals making up the balance.
- Doré must be refined to 995.0–999.9 fineness before it qualifies as investment-grade bullion.
- Value is based on assayed fine gold content and a payable percentage, priced against a benchmark such as the LBMA Gold Price, minus refining charges.
- Every doré bar is individually melted, sampled and assayed at the refinery — the assay result, not the stated weight, drives settlement.
- Verified origin documentation and compliant logistics are essential for doré to be accepted by reputable refineries.
Frequently Asked Questions
What purity is gold doré?
Doré purity varies by mine, but most doré bars contain roughly 60–95% gold. The remainder is mainly silver, plus small amounts of base metals such as copper. Exact purity is only confirmed by refinery assay.
Can you sell doré gold directly to investors?
Not normally. Investors and banks buy refined bullion of certified fineness. Doré is sold to refineries or specialist traders, refined to investment grade, and only then enters the bullion market.
Who pays for refining doré?
The seller, in effect. Refining, treatment and assay charges are deducted from the settlement value under the refining or sale agreement, alongside the agreed payable percentage.
How is doré transported internationally?
By secure logistics specialists, usually as air freight with armoured ground transport, full insurance and chain-of-custody documentation. Under CIF terms the seller arranges and pays for freight and insurance to the destination.
What documents accompany a doré shipment?
Typically a commercial invoice, packing list, mine assay certificate, certificate of origin, export permit from the country of origin, insurance certificate and airway bill. Refineries and customs authorities check these against the physical shipment.