TAX HAVEN:

Australia is also one of the few countries in the world that imposes no taxes or duties on the import or export of precious metals, or on domestic purchase and sale. No Australian tax is payable by an international depositor in most cases.

WOW insured by Lloyds of London:

All Perth Mint Depository Services precious metal deposits are insured by Lloyds of London at The Perth Mint's cost. Investors also have the additional security of a Government guarantee in the Gold Corporation Act 1987. Few other depositories in the world can offer an equivalent level of investor protection.

WHERE ARE THESE FORMS AND WHO HAS THEM

# Purchase and sale of metal at international market prices for immediate liquidity without additional transaction charges.

# Periodic sales and purchases at no additional cost.

# Transport, insurance, and safe custody release.

# Regular transaction and account statements.

# Internationally competitive rates and charges.

# Private client service.

# Special arrangements for large transactions.

The key difference is one of segregation of the physical metal behind the deposit.
Allocated

Allocated storage is the traditional way of holding precious metals. Clients purchase specific physical coins or bars from the Mint. The Mint removes these from its operating inventory and places them in the Perth Mint Depository vault under the client's account number (to preserve client's privacy from vault staff).

Allocated precious metal is therefore segregated from the Mint's operating inventory and is held under a custody arrangement. Allocated metal does not appear on The Perth Mint's balance sheet.

At purchase, clients pay for the precious metal in the bar or coin, the relevant fabrication charges, and one year's storage fees.

Unallocated

With unallocated storage, also known as a metal account, clients purchase an interest in an undivided pool of precious metal held by The Perth Mint. The Mint purchases an ounce of precious metal from the spot market for every unallocated ounce it sells to clients. Accordingly every unallocated ounce is 100% backed.

The precious metal purchased by the Mint is recorded on its balance sheet as an asset and the unallocated amounts sold to clients are recorded as a liability.

At purchase, clients only pay for the precious metal. There are no fabrication charges or storage fees, until clients elect to convert their unallocated into a specific coin or bar, which they can do at any time.

How can unallocated be 100% backed, yet there is no storage fee?

Unlike other depositories, which are merely warehouses, The Perth Mint is a manufacturer of precious metal products and through its interest in AGR Matthey, one of the world's largest refiners. Accordingly, the Mint has a substantial requirement for physical metal to support these operations.

To support this work-in-progress inventory, the Mint traditionally borrowed metal from bullion banks, at a cost. At the same time, there were investors paying to store metal with bullion banks and others.

The Mint realised that if it took deposits directly from investors, it could cut out the intermediary and create a win-win situation: the Mint wins by obtaining funding for its inventory and investors win by getting 100% backed storage at no charge.

In order for The Perth Mint to utilise a client's unallocated metal, the PMDS and PMCP client agreements are structured so that a client permits The Perth Mint to use the client's unallocated metal "for its own account as if it were the owner". As this usage provides a small commercial benefit to the Mint, it is able to offer a fee-free storage and provide simpler transaction procedures that many clients find attractive. Remember that any unallocated (as well as allocated) metal is fully covered by the Government Guarantee.
"As if it were the owner" is very wide. What is the Mint's policy on use of unallocated metal?

The Western Australian Government imposes strict operational procedures and restraints on The Perth Mint's management. The Perth Mint is not a bullion bank and does not provide project financing or bullion lending/derivative services to mining companies or other entities. It does not lend client's unallocated metal to support short selling transactions or other derivative activities. The unallocated metal is utilised solely to fund the Mint's operations.

Part of The Perth Mint's business mission is to provide investors with one of the world's safest locations for precious metal storage, especially in an environment of increasing global financial and corporate risk. The use of unallocated metal outside of The Perth Mint's operations is not consistent with this mission. It would introduce an unacceptable level of risk and compromise The Perth Mint's international reputation as a safe haven depository.
Does usage of the metal by the Mint affect my ability to collect physical metal?

No. Any use by the Mint of unallocated metal does not affect a client's right at any time to sell or request delivery of metal in a physical form. The Mint has a legal obligation to ensure client precious metal is available for collection within a specified period from the date of receiving a client's instructions.

The Perth Mint maintains finished goods inventory of its coins and bars at all times to meet normal demand from its distributors and Depository clients. Accordingly, unallocated clients will usually be able to collect their metal within a few days of giving notice.

However, it is important to note that if you request a physical product that is not in stock, or request a very large quantity, the Mint may need to manufacture it. It is because of this that some clients choose allocated storage - as their metal has already been fabricated it is ready for collection at a moment's notice.

Clients worried about potential delays in collecting metal in extreme circumstances, but with concerns about the cost of allocated storage, usually take a staged approach:

1. While the world environment is benign, they hold unallocated. They do not incur ongoing storage costs and fabrication charges.
2. When the environment becomes uncertain and risky, they convert to allocated.
3. When the world is at a crisis point, they take delivery of their physical metal.

This approach can save clients significant amounts of money as it may be some time between stage 1 and 2. Clients who do not feel they can judge the shift from stage 1 to 2, or feel it may be sudden and unpredictable, opt for allocated as they are using precious metals as "insurance" and see the storage fees as the cost of that insurance.
If unallocated is on the balance sheet, doesn't that mean I am exposed if the Mint becomes insolvent?

No. It is important to note that The Perth Mint is wholly owned by the Government of Western Australia (which enjoys the highest credit rating possible by Standard and Poors) and operates under an explicit AAA rated Government Guarantee. This means that it is not possible for the Mint to become insolvent because the affected parties would invoke the Government Guarantee and request the Government make good the debts of the Mint. The Perth Mint is therefore bankruptcy remote.

Your exposure is actually to the Government's solvency. Perth Mint Depository clients thus ultimately accept a sovereign risk exposure to the State of Western Australia.

The Government Guarantee section of this website provides further information on the relationship between the Mint and the Government and the strength of the Government's balance sheet. Most investors view the possibility of a Government becoming insolvent as extremely unlikely.

10 tonnes of fucking gold bars .....lets see these accounts.

DO they know anything: LOL nah we just gold bugs we know nuttin

SENIOR MANAGEMENT (at 1 January 2004)
GOLD CORPORATION
Chief Executive Officer: Edward Harbuz
Chief Financial Officer: Richard Hayes
Manager, Human Resources: Susan Coutts-Wood
Group Accountant and Joint Company Secretary: Anne Melville
Treasurer and Manager, Perth Mint Depository: Nigel Moffatt
Manager, Corporate Governance & Risk Management: Chris Mumme

GOLDCORP AUSTRALIA
General Manager: Veronica Maguire
Manager, Perth Mint Shop: Leonie Mirmikidis

WESTERN AUSTRALIAN MINT
General Manager: Justin Kees

AGR MANAGEMENT SERVICES PTY LTD *
Chief Executive Officer: Brian Bath
Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director: John Shephard
Executive General Manager, Jewellery and Industrial Products: Graeme Williamson
Manager, Finance & Accounting, Jewellery and Industrial: Graham Bell
General Manager, Production: Christopher Chadjilazarou
Group Information Technology Manager: Andrew Cristini
Marketing Manager, Industrial Products: Simon Gilbert
Manager, New Zealand Clare Goldsworthy
Manager, Finance & Accounting, Refining, Treasury and Corporate: David Koch
Treasurer: Joseph Metcalfe
General Manager, Sales and Marketing, Jewellery: Mhairi Nicolson-Biggs
Group Human Resources Manager: Giles Talbot
Associate Director, Technical Services: Darrall Trainor
General Manager, Refining: David Woodford


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