For an international buyer considering physical gold from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, or the wider East African region, a visit can answer practical questions that documents alone cannot. A trusted representative may also attend when the buyer cannot travel. Either way, the visit needs a defined scope. Looking at a parcel is different from confirming its ownership, origin, purity, or export eligibility.
Agree what the visit is meant to establish
Before booking travel or appointing anyone, request the proposed location, the identity of the party controlling access, and a description of the material offered for inspection. Ask whether the visit permits observation only, weighing, sampling, or testing. Record who will supervise each step and which independent professionals may attend. Do not assume a site visit is available for every proposed transaction.
Put the appointment and its limits in writing. The buyer should know what information will be supplied before arrival, including any available identification of the lot and the records to be reviewed. If the proposed material, location, or counterparties change, pause and update the scope before proceeding.
If you send a representative, define their authority
Choose a person who can report independently and has the relevant technical or commercial expertise. Give them written authority stating whom they represent, the agreed inspection tasks, whether they may observe sampling, and whether they may sign for custody. A representative should disclose conflicts of interest and report directly to the buyer. Their attendance should not be presented as a certification that the transaction is safe.
Ask for a dated report that separates first-hand observations from information supplied by the seller or another party. Photographs, container identifiers, weights displayed on a scale, and the names of people present may help reconcile the visit with later records, subject to consent and local rules. A report should also record what the inspector could not access or verify.
Keep the material and samples traceable
If sampling or testing is agreed, document how the sample was selected, sealed, labelled, transferred, and tested, and who had custody at each stage. An assay result relates to the sample submitted and its testing method; buyers should ask how representative that sample is of the proposed lot. Our guide to understanding a gold assay report explains questions to put to a laboratory.
The LBMA Responsible Gold Guidance definitions describe a chain of custody as the sequence of entities holding custody of material. That guidance is an industry framework for refiners, not proof that any particular seller or parcel meets it. Buyers can use the principle to ask for a coherent handover record.
Reconcile observations with the transaction file
After the visit, compare the inspector’s report with the proposed contract, seller identity, lot description, assay documentation, custody records, and the documents needed for the specific route and destination. Resolve differences in names, dates, quantities, seals, or locations before relying on the file. See our document reconciliation checklist.
The OECD minerals due diligence guidance provides a framework for identifying and addressing supply-chain risks. Its application calls for evidence and continuing review; a single visit cannot replace broader counterparty, origin, legal, and logistics checks. Obtain advice from qualified local and destination-country professionals on the rules and documents that apply to a proposed shipment.
Questions to send before committing funds
- Who will grant lawful access, and exactly what can be inspected or sampled?
- Who owns or controls the material, and how can that claim be checked independently?
- How will the visited parcel be identified again if it moves?
- Who selects the sample, which laboratory will test it, and who receives the result?
- What happens if the visit, assay, or documents reveal a discrepancy?
A clear inspection plan protects both sides from misunderstanding. To discuss the information needed for a proposed transaction, use our quotation enquiry page. Any particular inspection arrangement, product availability, transaction terms, and applicable documents must be confirmed for that enquiry.