Asahi Refining

What Asahi Refining does

Asahi Refining is a North American precious metals refiner and bullion product manufacturer headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah (West Valley City), with refining operations in Brampton, Canada, a minting facility in Miami, Florida, and a CME-approved vaulting depot in Blauvelt, New York. The company was established in March 2015 when Japan-based ARE Holdings (then Asahi Holdings, TYO: 5857) acquired Johnson Matthey's gold and silver refining businesses, transferring LBMA London Good Delivery status to its USA and Canada refineries. Asahi operates what it describes as the largest gold and silver processing capacity in North America across LBMA Good Delivery-certified facilities in the USA, Canada, and Japan.

The company provides a vertically integrated service stack spanning assaying, refining, transportation, trading/financing, and CME-approved vaulting through its Asahi Depository LLC subsidiary. Its core technology rests on X-Ray fluorescence preliminary scanning combined with fire assay processes, induction furnace flameless casting for 100 oz silver bars, and participation in the IBM Blockchain-powered TrustChain Initiative for supply chain provenance. The product portfolio includes cast and minted gold bars (1 gram to 400 oz), silver bars (1 oz to 1000 oz), IRA-eligible rounds, and specialty lines (American Reserve for USA-sourced metal, Lunar Calendar Series, Freedom Liberty and Buffalo rounds).

Asahi's revenue model is multi-stream: refining fees on doré and scrap from miners and recyclers, bullion product sales to wholesalers and distributors (with a channel partner network for fractional gold bars), institutional trading and financing services (spot, swaps, forwards, FX, lease, repo, consignment), and the Physical Gold and Silver Program for accredited institutions offering 10–40 bps rebates with no safekeeping fees. Customer segments are organized into four primary verticals — Miners, Recyclers, Bankers, and Distributors — served through long-term enterprise sales relationships and supported by R&D centralized in Japan.

Name

Asahi Refining

Legal name

Asahi Refining

Website

https://asahirefining.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Asahi Refining is the largest precious metals refiner in North America, providing assaying, refining, bullion products, trading, and CME-approved vaulting services to miners, recyclers, financial institutions, and distributors across the USA, Canada, Japan, and Latin America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Precious Metals Refining and Bullion Manufacturing

NAICS

Chemical Manufacturing (325)

SIC

Chemicals & Allied Products (2800)

akta.pro primary industry

Precious Metals Minting & Bullion Products (IMAKAEAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Precious Metals Bullion & Concentrates Trading (Gold, Silver, PGM) (IMAKAJAD)

Keywords

• Precious metals refining
• Bullion products
• Gold assaying
• Silver bar manufacturing
• Precious metals trading

Headquarters

HQ city

West Valley City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Precious Metals Refining Services: Core refining services for gold, silver, platinum, and palladium from mining operations, recyclers, and other sources. Services include assaying, refining, and processing of various forms including bars, coins, and jewelry.
2. Bullion Product Sales: Sale of cast and minted gold and silver bars in various sizes (1 gram to 1000 oz), rounds, and commemorative products. Products sold through wholesale partners and directly to institutions.
3. Trading and Financing Services: In-house trading and treasury capabilities including spot trading, swaps, forwards, options, foreign exchange, lease, repo, and consignment services. Physical Gold and Silver Program for accredited institutions.
4. Transportation and Logistics: Precious metals transportation services with relationships with major producers enabling conjunctive shipping arrangements and premium transportation rates.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Asahi Refining provides precious metal assaying, refining, and bullion product manufacturing services for gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. The company operates LBMA Good Delivery certified refineries in Salt Lake City (USA) and Brampton (Canada), an ISO9001:2015 certified mint in Miami (USA), and offers ancillary services including transportation, trading/financing, vaulting (via Asahi Depository LLC), and a Physical Gold and Silver Program for accredited institutions.

Product overview

Asahi Refining is a leading precious metal refiner and bullion product manufacturer offering a comprehensive portfolio of gold and silver products along with industrial services. The core product portfolio includes cast and minted gold bars ranging from 1 gram to 400 oz, and silver bars from 1 oz to 1000 oz, produced at LBMA Good Delivery certified refineries in Salt Lake City, Utah and Brampton, Canada, and an ISO9001:2015 registered mint in Miami, Florida. The company operates specialized sub-brands including the American Reserve line (USA-sourced gold and silver), Lunar Calendar Series (Chinese New Year commemoratives), and seasonal/holiday-themed silver rounds. Services include assaying, refining, transportation, trading/financing, the Physical Gold and Silver Program for institutional investors, and CME-approved vaulting through Asahi Depository LLC. Nearly 200 years of combined industry experience underpins the company's refining, minting, and trading operations serving miners, recyclers, bankers, and distributors globally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Asahi Cast Gold and Silver Bars

Quantifiable outcome

• New Salt Lake City silver refinery reduces energy use by 270 kilowatt-hours per metric ton for silver processing
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Patagonia Gold CorpcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 June 2026Patagonia Gold Corp dispatches gold and silver doré from its Calcatreu Project in Rio Negro Province, Argentina, to Asahi Refining for processing. First dispatch of 518 gold equivalent ounces was sent following commencement of leaching operations in April 2026.
• IBMflagshipTechnology or Integration · 26 April 2018IBM and consortium of gold and diamond industry leaders announced the TrustChain Initiative, using IBM Blockchain Platform to track jewelry provenance across the supply chain. Built on open source technology based on IBM Blockchain Platform and Hyperledger Project.
• Helzberg DiamondsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 April 2018U.S. jewelry retailer participating in TrustChain blockchain initiative to bring full transparency to consumers. TrustChain initially tracked six styles of diamond and gold engagement rings.
• Richline GroupminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 April 2018Global jewelry manufacturer and Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary participating in TrustChain blockchain initiative. Richline Group's CMO Mark Hanna led consortium announcement.
• LeachGarnerminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 April 2018Precious metals supplier participating in TrustChain blockchain initiative for jewelry supply chain transparency.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Royal Canadian Mint: The Royal Canadian Mint is a Canadian Crown corporation that refines gold, produces bullion coins (e.g., Gold/Silver Maple Leaf), and offers refining and storage services. It is a broad incumbent peer in Canadian precious metals refining and bullion products with similar institutional and retail distribution channels.
• Heraeus Precious Metals: Heraeus is a German Fortune-500 precious and technology metals group encompassing refining, trading, and industrial applications. It is a broad incumbent peer with overlapping LBMA-certified refining operations and bullion products (e.g., Argor-Heraeus), but operates across a much wider technology metals and industrial portfolio.

Regional players

• Perth Mint: Perth Mint is an Australian government-owned precious metals refiner and bullion coin producer (e.g., Kangaroo, Lunar series). It is a regional peer operating primarily in Asia-Pacific with similar bullion product and refining offerings to Asahi but limited direct North American competition.

Direct peers

• Sunshine Minting: Sunshine Minting is a US-based private precious metals mint and refiner producing silver and gold bars and rounds for the North American market. It is a direct peer competing with Asahi's Miami mint in minted bullion products, blank planchets, and custom minting services.
• Rand Refinery: Rand Refinery is the largest precious metals refinery in Africa and an LBMA Good Delivery refiner serving South African and international mining customers. It is a direct peer offering comparable gold and silver refining and minted Krugerrand-related products, with similar institutional and bullion customer base.
• Johnson Matthey: Johnson Matthey is the predecessor refiner from which Asahi acquired its Salt Lake City and Brampton operations in 2015. JM retains precious metals refining capabilities elsewhere and remains a direct peer competing for mining house relationships, though it divested its primary North American gold/silver refining footprint to Asahi.
• Argor-Heraeus: Argor-Heraeus is a Swiss LBMA Good Delivery refiner and one of the world's largest precious metals processors. It is a direct peer offering gold, silver, platinum, and palladium refining plus minted bars (e.g., Kinebar), competing with Asahi across miners, banks, and wholesale bullion distribution.
• Metalor Technologies: Metalor is a Swiss-based LBMA Good Delivery precious metals refiner (acquired by Japan's Tanaka Kikinzoku in 2016). It is a direct peer in gold and silver refining and bullion products, competing with Asahi for mining house and institutional customers globally.
• Valcambi: Valcambi is a Swiss LBMA Good Delivery refiner owned by Global Gold Refineries (Rajesh Exports). It is a direct peer offering gold/silver/platinum group refining and minted bars (including CombiBars), serving the same miners, banks, and retail bullion channels as Asahi.
• PAMP Suisse: PAMP Suisse is a Swiss LBMA Good Delivery precious metals refiner and bullion bar manufacturer serving miners, central banks, and retail investors. It is the most direct global peer to Asahi Refining, offering comparable gold/silver/platinum/palladium refining, minting, and storage services with similar institutional customer base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/asahirefining

Compliance10 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Asahi Refining