Gold · Trading & Sourcing
East African gold, read with the same standard.
Alongside our work on rare earths, Thales Ventures sources and trades responsibly produced gold from across the East African region. The principle is unchanged: known origin, documented chain of custody, and counterparties who can stand behind every gram.
East Africa produces a meaningful share of the world's artisanal and small-scale gold, with growing capacity in licensed mid-tier operations. The challenge has never been availability, it has been provenance, traceability and the willingness to walk away from parcels that cannot be cleanly accounted for.
That is the line we work along. Every parcel we touch is sourced through formalised channels, sealed, documented, assayed and routed to refining and settlement partners who meet international standards.
Sourcing Corridors
Where the parcels come from.
Uganda
Karamoja, Mubende and Busia goldfields, a mix of artisanal cooperatives and licensed small-scale operators feeding regional refiners.
Tanzania
Lake Victoria greenstone belts, Geita and the southern highlands, the region's most established producing geology.
Kenya
Migori and the Lake Victoria belt, emerging structured supply with growing formalisation of artisanal flows.
Rwanda
Refining and re-export hub with tightening due-diligence and chain-of-custody requirements.
Burundi
Northern alluvial workings, read carefully against provenance and conflict-free standards.
DRC Corridor
Cross-border flows touched only through audited, OECD-aligned channels and never on unverified provenance.
From Pan To Refinery
The hands behind every gram are part of the story.
Most regional production still begins with cooperatives and small operators working ground that has been worked for generations. Formalising those flows, fair pricing, documented purchase, support with licensing and safety, is what turns a parcel into something a serious buyer can accept.
That groundwork is not a footnote. It is the difference between gold that clears and gold that does not.
The Standard
Four lines we do not cross.
Known Origin
Every parcel tied to a named licence, cooperative or mine site, no anonymous tonnage, no second-hand provenance.
OECD-Aligned Due Diligence
Sourcing read against the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for responsible mineral supply chains from conflict-affected and high-risk areas.
Documented Chain Of Custody
Sealed parcels, signed handovers and a paper trail that survives audit from pit to refinery.
Refinery & Assay
LBMA-route refining partners, independent assay on receipt, and clear settlement against the published spot reference.
Counterparties
For refineries, jewellers, family offices and institutional buyers.
Engagements begin with a quiet conversation: parcel size, frequency, delivery point, compliance posture and the chain-of-custody documentation required by your end of the market. From there, the work is steady and measured.
Open A Sourcing Conversation