Stakeholders’ confidence in OCIM’s commitment to creating a truly responsible gold value chain is based on an ambitious compliance framework, the strength of which rests on three auditable pillars.
- Sourcing to international standards.
Every miner partner is onboarded through a full upstream KYC process aligned with the LBMA Responsible Sourcing requirements and the ASM Toolkit, supplemented by the Swiss Better Gold (SBG) certification framework. No ore enters the supply chain before this process is complete and documented.
- Consistency between what is declared and what is delivered.
Every purchase is monitored against the baseline established during the onboarding phase (origin, volume, processing site, beneficial ownership…). Discrepancies trigger an immediate review protocol. Continuous monitoring is the mechanism that makes the first promise durable.
- Immutability of the data from extraction to delivery.
xTrace™ traceability ensures that every step of the processing chain is recorded and unalterable. What enters the system as ore from a documented and certified miner exits as gold whose compliance status is fully verifiable by the end buyer. The output matches the input and can be proven to.
xTrace™ — blockchain-based traceability
Developed by the Swiss software editor aXedras, xTrace™ is OCIM’s traceability backbone. It is built to record and preserve the compliance data generated at every step of the supply chain, from the miner’s onboarding file to the refined output delivered to the end buyer. Every transfer, processing step and quality control point is logged in real time and tied to the relevant miner’s identity and certification status.
The system is built on blockchain technology, a decentralised ledger that no party can alter retroactively. Once a transaction is recorded, it cannot be modified or deleted. This architectural property is what makes the compliance trail independently verifiable by any counterparty at any point in the chain.
xTrace™ is currently being deployed across Soleil Metals’ operations in Peru. Full implementation is underway.
Swiss regulation applied to Peruvian operations
OCIM Metals & Mining SA (OMM) is supervised under the Swiss Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA). Under Article 6 of the FINMA Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance (OBA/FINMA), OMM conducts consolidated risk management across all group entities including Soleil Metals’ operations in Peru. This means that the traceability and control framework governing OCIM’s trading operations in Geneva applies directly to field-level operations in Peru. Country risk is not outsourced to the subsidiary, but managed at the group level under Swiss regulatory oversight.
How we address the sector’s principal risks
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Environmental damage |
Money laundering and criminal sourcing |
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Risk :Every miner onboarded by Soleil Metals undergoes an environmental assessment as part of the upstream KYC process. Operations are confined to pre-cleared sites. Mercury-free processing methods are required as a condition of the partnership. Compliance is monitored continuously, not only at onboarding. |
Risk OCIM applies upstream KYC standards equivalent to those required by Swiss financial intermediaries under AMLA. Every miner partner is subject to full identity verification, beneficial ownership documentation, concession licence review, and screening against FATF, OFAC, and EU sanctions lists. Transactions are monitored continuously for anomalies against the onboarding baseline. |
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Impact : Every gram purchased by OCIM comes from a documented site operating within assessed environmental parameters. The buyer’s exposure to environmental liability is eliminated at source. |
Impact: OCIM does not ask its institutional partners to accept the sector’s criminal sourcing risk, but eliminates that risk through a compliance architecture designed to FINMA standards. |
Certifications and affiliations
OCIM’s compliance claims are backed by independent verification. The group holds the following certifications and affiliations, each subject to ongoing audit and renewal.
- OCIM is a full member of the London Bullion Market Association, the international standard-setting body for the gold market. Membership requires demonstrated compliance with the LBMA Responsible Sourcing Programme.
- Soleil Metals processing plants have been declared compliant with Swiss Better Gold (SBG) Step 1, which covers environmental, social and governance requirements for artisanal mining operations. Full certification (Step 2), which involves the independent external audit of all mining partners, is in progress.
- OCIM is fully engaged in the Responsible Minerals Initiative certification process, which will provide an additional layer of independent third-party verification of responsible sourcing practices.
