LBMA Good Delivery Bar
An LBMA Good Delivery Bar is a 400-ounce gold bar that meets the London Bullion Market Association’s technical, chemical, and logistical standards for institutional trade and settlement.
It is the globally recognized format for gold held and transacted in professional custody networks, including central banks, bullion banks, and accredited vaults.
Definition and Recognition
LBMA Good Delivery Bars represent the highest institutional grade of gold used in settlement, collateralization, and storage.
Each bar is produced by an LBMA-accredited refinery and accepted without re-assay across the London, Zurich, Dubai, and Hong Kong vault networks.
This universal acceptance allows the bars to circulate freely within the global clearing system, forming the operational backbone of interbank gold liquidity.
Physical and Chemical Specifications
| Parameter | LBMA Requirement |
|---|---|
| Nominal Weight | 400 troy ounces (approximately 12.4 kg) |
| Accepted Range | 350–430 troy ounces |
| Minimum Fineness | 995.0 parts per thousand (99.5% gold) |
| Typical Purity | 999.9 parts per thousand |
| Dimensions | Length: 210–290 mm • Width: 55–85 mm • Height: 25–45 mm |
| Form | Cast trapezoidal bar |
| Markings | Serial number, refiner’s stamp, assay mark, fineness, and year of manufacture |
Bars are cast under strict temperature and purity control. Each carries a unique serial number registered by the refiner, custodian, and LBMA referee laboratory to maintain traceability through the entire supply chain.
Manufacturing and Refining Process
Production is limited to refineries included on the LBMA Good Delivery List, which undergo continuous Proactive Monitoring (PAM) and independent assay testing.
Key stages of manufacturing include:
- Melting and homogenization of refined doré or scrap feedstock;
- Casting into molds meeting LBMA dimension tolerances;
- Cooling and surface finishing to ensure clean edges and visible markings;
- Assay certification, confirming purity and weight;
- Registration and stamping, providing permanent identification for each bar.
Refineries must maintain ISO 17025 assay laboratory accreditation and conform to Responsible Gold Guidance for ethical sourcing.
Vault Handling and Verification
Within LBMA-accredited vaults, each bar is:
- Logged in a barlist (including serial number, refiner, weight, fineness);
- Verified during deposit and withdrawal through re-weighing and visual inspection;
- Stored under dual control and continuous surveillance;
- Covered by all-risk insurance;
- Audited periodically as part of vault reconciliation or third-party inspection.
Any discrepancy in marking, purity, or appearance may lead to the bar being removed from the Good Delivery system and re-assayed before re-entry.
Institutional Applications
LBMA Good Delivery Bars serve as the standard settlement unit in wholesale bullion markets.
They are used for:
- Interbank transfers within the London Precious Metals Clearing Limited (LPMCL) network;
- Collateral held by central banks and sovereign wealth funds;
- Reserve asset holdings for institutional investors;
- Source bars for minting kilobars or smaller investment bars.
Because of their consistent specification and global acceptance, Good Delivery Bars are the most liquid and cost-efficient form of physical gold for large-scale transactions.
Compliance and Responsible Sourcing
All refiners and vaults handling Good Delivery Bars must comply with:
- LBMA Good Delivery Rules for technical quality;
- Responsible Gold Guidance (RGG) for supply-chain integrity;
- OECD Due Diligence Guidance on responsible sourcing;
- FATF AML/KYC standards for all transactional participants.
Compliance documentation ensures that every bar within the system is both physically verified and ethically sourced.
Institutional Relevance
The LBMA Good Delivery Bar remains the definitive physical benchmark of the gold market.
Its uniformity allows instant verification, universal tradability, and full compatibility with international custody and settlement systems.
By standardizing the form and quality of gold, it enables the global bullion infrastructure to operate with transparency, precision, and confidence.