WGC Report Spotlights Growth of India’s Gold Refining Industry

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The World Gold Council (WGC), in its latest India gold market series, has highlighted the significant growth of gold refining and recycling markets in the country.

According to the report, the demand for gold in India outpaces its domestic mine supply. The surplus demand is fulfilled by imports and local recycled gold supply. The recycled gold accounts for approximately 11% of the average annual local gold supply. Incidentally, India is ranked fourth in global gold recycling.

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The country’s gold refining industry has witnessed significant growth over recent years. The capacity has increased by almost 500% from 2013 to 2021. The informal sector too contributes around 300-500 tonnes. The impacts of Covid-19 pandemic as well as other macro-economic factors have affected profitability of small-scale gold refineries in the country. Meantime, the refining industry looks to be stabilising after a period of change, WGC noted.

The growth in refining capacity was facilitated by a dramatic growth in dore imports during the period from 2013 to 2018. However, the expansion of the refining sector has slowed in recent years on account of introduction of Goods & Services Tax (GST). It must be noted that majority of Indian gold refiners have an annual capacity less than 50t.