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Perth Mint chief executive Paul Graham says the latest results from the state-owned business show the organisation has rebuilt its brand and is earning back trust from clients and customers, but admits the job is not done yet.
According to the mint’s annual report, the business broke several records over the past financial year, including revenue of $44.23 billion, profit before tax of $100.2 million and a dividend of $47.7 million for the state government.
Graham, who has been in the role since November 2023, was named chief executive of the mint at a time when the organisation was making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
A Four Corners report in March that year claimed the mint tried to cover up concerns a gold dilution program that resulted in two gold bars breaching the strict purity standards of one of its biggest customers – the Shanghai Gold Exchange.
The mint and its owner Gold Corporation were also at the centre of an Austrac audit amid concerns about its compliance with stringent regulations set by the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act which concluded earlier this year.
However, Graham said while the mint was now well-positioned in terms of its compliance obligations and requirements, and delivering record results, now was not the time to rest on its laurels.
“You need to remain vigilant and very diligent around making sure that you operate in a responsible way and in a compliant way, and that will continue to be the case”, he said.
“That will always require the right diligence and investment each year. And so we’ve now built into our budgets the ability to continue to invest and uphold the standards that we’ve now set.”
The price per ounce of gold rose to a staggering US$5589.38 per ounce in January this year, setting a new record, and while the value has settled again in recent months, it still sits above the US$4000 per ounce mark.
In Australian dollars, the price has consistently been around the $6000 per ounce price.
Graham said geopolitical uncertainty, including the ongoing war in the Middle East, is certainly a key factor in the current value of gold.
“Gold’s always acted as a reserve currency in times of unrest and volatility, and so our role is to position ourselves where we can be well-placed to capture that demand and meet the needs of the various customer bases through those international markets,” he said.
“And the investments that we’ve made in our operations over the last three to four years, have certainly paid off.
“Certainly, we’ve seen significant growth in customer holdings and the benefits of the major investments that we’ve been making across our operating divisions over recent years.
“But in addition to this, the Perth Mint has actually grown its customer base and its market share across both institutional and retail customer bases in our three key markets, being North America, Europe, and Asia.”
Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA chief executive Aaron Morey said the recently released report, Unearthing Potential, conservatively identifies more than 4800 tonnes of remaining saleable gold in WA – with exploration uncovering new reserves all the time.
“Mining that volume of gold would generate around $11.8 billion in royalties, $42.6 billion in company tax and support an average 38,800 annual operational jobs for decades to come,” he said.
“The benefits extend well beyond Western Australia’s borders and gold has uses that stretch far beyond filling vaults. It’s a critical input into a wide range of electronics, dentistry and even the coating of astronaut visors.”
Graham said the gold industry in Western Australia is currently enjoying a resurgence, with the elevated gold price bringing several mothballed operations back up and running.
“Most out there that have had assets that were on care and maintenance or just on hold are now being reactivated,” he said.
“There’s plenty of drills in the ground drilling, and that’s very exciting for the state.
“And assuming that the gold price holds or continues to grow, I think this industry will go from strength to strength, and will continue to be a big contributor to the state’s exports and balance sheet.
“The people here are doing a tremendous job, and we’re very, very proud of these results.
“And I think it’s the people of Western Australia’s results, and everyone should feel proud about it.”
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