Dubai: 24Gold has recently broken ground on the site of its new gold and precious metals refinery in Dubai, which is set to redefine the sector. The new facility is located in the Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) district within the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), and will open its doors to trade in October next year.
The project aims to create a unique, bespoke and niche precious metal refinery that will be the first of its kind in the Middle East region, and possibly the world, a challenging ambition 24Gold team has set for itself. Construction is set to be complete in September next year.
24Gold will take a completely different approach by exclusively concentrating on fast, efficient and cost-effective processing of old, broken or slow moving gold and other precious metals jewellery. It will have the ability to efficiently process low purity jewellery, such as nine-carat gold, very popular in Europe and the United Kingdom, into high quality gold bars and coins. The new refinery will also process other forms of recycled gold that has been reclaimed from electronics, dental, medical and other industrial sectors.
24Gold will use the latest state-of-the-art accounting, tracking and tracing technology to ensure that the provenance of the gold and other precious metals contained in its value-added products is guaranteed to be completely ethical and in accordance with all international supply chain standards.
Jeffrey Rhodes, Managing Consultant of Rhodes Precious Metals Consultancy (RPMC), said, “The impact of this innovative approach to precious metals refining could be extremely significant, perhaps even game-changing. Tourists in Dubai will be able to confidently trade in their old-fashioned precious metals and gold jewellery for the latest collections on a ‘gold for gold’ basis and simply pay the new making charges. While on the flip side, retail jewellers in the UAE will know that they have a world-class refinery on their doorstep that has specialist expertise in processing all types of jewellery in an efficient, timely and cost-effective manner.”
Other markets across the GCC and North Africa, particularly Egypt, have active local gold markets where visitors flock to exchange old fashioned or out-of-date jewellery for designs that are newer, more modern designs. This has the potential to become a significant source of business for Dubai.
As a key part of the refinery’s corporate social responsibility programme, 24Gold will offer internship placements, and eventually employment opportunities, to the young people of the UAE, by providing Apprenticeships in Alchemy. This will help to underpin the UAE’s precious metals and jewellery sectors to ensure the longer-term sustainability of an industry that is vital to the UAE’s economy and social infrastructure.
