How to Use an Assay Report When Negotiating a Gold Price

An assay report gives a result for the sample tested. It does not, on its own, establish what an entire shipment is worth. A fair price discussion also requires an agreed lot weight, sampling basis, payable percentage, market price reference, costs, deductions and payment terms.

Read what the report actually measures

Start with the sample reference, material description, date, method and unit of measurement. Gold content can be expressed as a percentage, parts per thousand (fineness) or, for lower-grade material such as ore, grams per tonne. These units are not interchangeable without conversion and context.

An XRF analysis result is useful for screening certain materials, but surface effects and nonuniformity may limit its application to a larger lot. An appropriately sampled and prepared Fire Assay can provide quantitative evidence for the sample submitted. Ask whether the tested sample represents the parcel being priced.

Agree on weight and purity before calculating

A bar's gross weight is not automatically its fine-gold weight. For example, a hypothetical 1,000 g lot at 90% measured gold content contains an estimated 900 g of gold only if the reported composition is representative of that lot. This illustrative result is not a statement about Bilex client material or a commercial guarantee.

If a contract is based on fine troy ounces, the parties should agree which measured weight, sampling result and conversion convention applies. The exact troy-ounce conversion is 31.1034768 grams per troy ounce. Avoid confusing ordinary avoirdupois ounces with troy ounces.

An illustrative valuation, not a live quote

Suppose a representative 1,000 g lot has 90% gold by mass. The estimated fine gold is 900 g, approximately 28.935 troy ounces. At a purely hypothetical reference price of USD 3,000 per troy ounce, the reference contained-gold value would be about USD 86,805 before any payable percentage, treatment, refining, logistics, tax, financing or other negotiated deductions.

That reference figure is not the amount a buyer must pay. If the parties agree that only a specified fraction of the measured content is payable, or that particular costs are deducted, the actual settlement formula will differ. If silver or other recoverable components matter commercially, their treatment should be written into the terms rather than assumed.

Ask five questions about an offer

1. What reference price and pricing date or fixing period will be used?
2. Which assay result and lot weight control the calculation?
3. What proportion of measured gold is payable, and why?
4. Which charges are deducted, by whom and on what evidence?
5. When does title and payment transfer, and how are disputes over assay or weight handled?

A discount to a market reference is not meaningful until the weight, purity, timing and deduction terms are understood. A buyer can quote a high headline percentage while leaving large unpriced deductions; another can quote a lower percentage with clearer settlement mechanics. Compare the complete written economics.

Protect the sampling and payment process

Agree how samples are drawn, who witnesses them, whether referee samples are retained and which method applies if results conflict. Reconcile material seals, delivery weight and report references at every stage.

Payment-security arrangements must identify the actual bank, escrow agent or contractual mechanism; the words 'escrow protected' are not a substitute for enforceable instructions.

When the material has not been independently tested or has an uncertain origin, do not infer its purity or lawful trade status from a seller's declaration.

Where Bilex can assist

Bilex can discuss gold purity testing, explain the scope and limitations of the results, and consider enquiries from gold buyers or sellers. It may purchase selected small quantities directly; for larger transactions it usually facilitates buyer and seller introductions. When Bilex is purchasing the material, its commercial interest must be disclosed and its own testing must not be presented as independent third-party verification.

Next step: Share the material description, sample or report reference, approximate weight and the specific valuation question. Ask for a written scope before using a laboratory result to agree a price.

Further reading: Bilex Gold Testing; Bilex Fire Assay; Bilex XRF. The numerical example above is deliberately hypothetical and must not be connected to the TradingView feed as a current gold quotation.