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© Facebook/Perth MintDemand for the precious metal, which is considered a safe haven in times of financial or political turmoil, has been growing
Up to $9billion worth of gold that the Perth Mint sold to China could be recalled after it was discovered some bars were diluted with other metals.

The WA government-owned mint, which is the largest refiner of newly mined gold in the world, started 'doping' its gold in 2018 - a process which involves mixing in silver or copper while still keeping the purity above 99.99 per cent.

While the product met widely accepted standards on the global gold market, up to 100 tonnes of bullion shipped to China potentially falls short of the more stringent standards of the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE).

Some of the gold the SGE tested from Perth Mint exceeded the allowable silver content.

Even more remarkably, when Perth Mint was caught out not meeting the SGE standards they allegedly tried to cover it up, concerned it could affect the mint's reputation, reports the ABC's Four Corners.

One Perth Mint insider told the program it is a 'scandal of the highest level'.

The 124-year-old Perth Mint is Australia's biggest gold refinery with a turnover of almost $22billion last financial year.

It sold almost 20 million coins, medallions and bars to customers in more than 130 countries.

WA Premier Mark McGowan was the minister responsible for the Perth Mint for four years until March 2021.

The 'doping' program was introduced in 2018 with an expected saving of about $620,000 a year - a tiny fraction of the mint's turnover.

Documents show some internal staff raised concerns the gold bars might not meet SGE standards but the program continued.

The SGE itself first alleged in September 2021 that two gold bars from Perth Mint it had tested using metallurgical assay allegedly contained too much silver.

The doping program was immediately stopped and an internal investigation launched - which found one of those two bars had been checked before it left Perth Mint and had allegedly failed to meet SGE's standards then.

Rather than inform the Chinese exchange, Perth Mint opted to not send through the failed assay test.

The internal investigation provides an insight into why.

'If SGE - Gold Corporation's pre-eminent exchange client - had made public that they had issues with Gold Corporation bars ... the impact of negative public statements on the business could be very significant,' the internal report said.

The report also noted the scale of product that could be affected.

'Based on average understandings of volumes ... it was possible for up to 100 tonnes of stock to be recalled from the Shanghai Gold Exchange for replacement,' the report said.

The Perth Mint appeared desperate to avoid losing their accreditation with SGE and the damage this would bring to their reputation on global gold markets.

The mint claims that since 2021 it's refining method has been improved and it's gold is now higher purity than the industry standard.

But that isn't its only troubles.

It is also separately under investigation by financial crime regulator AUSTRAC, which last year ordered the appointment of an external auditor to the West Australian government-owned corporation after identifying compliance concerns.

The auditor is examining whether Gold Corporation, trading as Perth Mint, has complied with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing obligations after allegedly selling gold to persons known to have links to criminal syndicates.

It is also investigating the mint's compliance with requirements relating to the reporting of suspicious matters.

Any confirmed breach of money laundering laws could leave the mint facing heavy criminal fines which would ultimately be paid by WA taxpayers.

A Perth Mint spokeswoman said the corporation 'is required to and fulfils its obligation' to report to AUSTRAC if staff suspect a person or transaction is linked to a crime.

She said the mint had launched anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing remediation programs and processes to improve its engagement with customers.

'The Perth Mint acknowledges there have been instances of historical non-compliance that we are working through, including with regulators such as AUSTRAC, to rectify any shortcomings,' she said.