1 kg Heraeus silver bar

History

Heraeus 1 kg cast silver bar

The process to manufacture a cast 1000 gram silver bar starts by heating silver material in a furnace until it turns to a molten slurry. During the heating process, all unwanted impurities in the slurry are removed until only molten silver of high purity is left, most often at around 99.9%. The refined silver is cooled and then either converted into silver granules or small silver bits. Either of these forms is weighed and adjusted according to the required weight of the desired cast silver bar and is then placed in an iron cast mold. The mold is put into a furnace which melts the small pieces of silver inside the iron cast mold. After the silver has melted, the molds are cooled and the silver solidifies inside. The result is a cast bar. These newly cast silver bars are then inspected and weighed. The bars that pass the test are cleaned and inserted into a hydraulic press that applies the needed marks on the top side of the cast silver bar. Investors need to take into consideration that unlike minted bars which are created from uniform silver panels and have even surfaces, the surface of a cast bar is sometimes rough and uneven. This makes them a perfect choice for those who like to handleand “feel” their silver bars since the re-sale value is not affected by mild scratches or dents.

Heraeus Precious Metals

Heraeus Precious Metals is part of Heraeus Holding, an engineering group that was founded in 1851, and which today is one of Germany’s largest privately owned businesses with annual sales exceeding 20 billion Euros. The company’s headquarters is located in the German city of Hanau, where it operates one of Germany’s largest refineries and precious metal fabrication plants that produces the country’s most renowned gold and silver bullion bars under the brand “Heraeus”. The group employs over 12,000 people in more than 100 different subsidiaries worldwide and operates a wide range of business activities such as precious metal fabrication and trading, the production of high-end biomaterials, medical and pharmaceutical products, and the manufacturing of advanced technological components.

Heraeus, a member of the London Bullion Market Association

The LBMA, or London Bullion Market Association, was established as an independent oversight body by Britain’s Central Bank in 1987. The roots of the LBMA can be traced back several centuries to the 1700s when London started to emerge as the world’s leading trading hub for precious metals. Referred to as the “London Silver Market”, it was self-regulated by the London’s foremost bullion traders and fabricators who oversaw the market by accrediting precious metal refiners to the London Good Delivery List. Only those refiners that met the quality and purity criteria set down by the “LGD” list were allowed to enter the London bullion market. Today, more than 135 companies, which include some of the largest precious metal refiners, storage providers, manufacturers and bullion traders, are members of the London Bullion Market Association. They all form part of the LBMA, the world’s most respected and trusted international authority that monitors the production and refining process of silver and silver bullion. LBMA’s primary role is to manage the Good Delivery List which is today the international standard for the quality and assaying of silver and silver bars.