A South African refinery has stopped shipping gold to London because of a lack of commercial flights, adding to the disruption that’s upending the physical bullion market.
South Africa’s Rand Refinery, the continent’s only gold refiner, said it’s exploring back-up plans and alternative measures to be able to meet its delivery commitments to the London gold market.
“The supply from the established mines on the African continent to the refinery is currently disrupted,” said CEO Praveen Baijnath. “We are working hard with global logistics service providers to ensure our inbound and outbound commitments can be achieved.”
He didn’t specify how much gold could be affected. Still, it’s another example of how the supply chain — which runs from deep African mines to refineries and storage vaults — is being upended by the coronavirus. Earlier this week, refineries in Switzerland also announced they would temporarily close.