Perth Mint Certificates FAQ

The Perth Mint Certificate Program (PMCP) is operated by Gold Corporation, a company wholly owned by the Government of the State of Western Australia. The PMCP offers international investors a unique range of precious metal storage facilities at competitive rates. The PMCP is especially suitable for private investors seeking confidentiality and flexibility and a safe haven for their precious metal assets. The Perth Mint is the world’s only depository that offers a government guarantee issued by the government of one of Australia’s wealthiest states.

The Perth Mint Certificate (PMC) is a document that evidences your legal title to precious metals stored on either an allocated (segregated) or an unallocated (non-segregated) basis at the Perth Mint. The PMC is registered to the owner and identified by a client name and certificate number. Perth Mint Certificates are fully insured by Lloyd’s of London and represent holdings that are guaranteed by the Government of Western Australia.

The Perth Mint is a division of Gold Corporation, an entity wholly owned by the Government of Western Australia. The Perth Mint was established by an Act of Parliament in 1899 to turn the gold from the Western Australian gold rush into sovereigns for the British Empire. Through its legal tender bullion coins, the Mint has established a formidable reputation as a leader in international precious metal investment.

Unallocated Perth Mint Certificates are deeds of title to a specific number of ounces of precious metals (gold, silver or platinum) held on an unallocated basis in a pool of metals. No storage fee is charged for unallocated Perth Mint Certificates. Allocated Perth Mint certificates represent segregated (allocated) holdings stored on behalf of customers. Customers who buy allocated Perth Mint Certificates select the metal and product they wish to hold. The Perth Mint segregates their product from other customers’ holdings for a predetermined storage fee.

In the United States, it is illegal for residents of the following states to purchase Perth Mint Certificates through Kitco:

For international customers, there are generally no restrictions on who can purchase Perth Mint Certificates. However, in keeping with the Australian Government’s requirements, the Perth Mint reserves the right to disbar from its Certificate Program certain individuals from “sanctioned countries”. Sanctioned countries include those countries against which sanctions have been imposed by the United Nations Organization and/or the Government of Australia. The Perth Mint bases its decisions on the sanctioned country information published on the website of Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

To purchase a Perth Mint Certificate:

1. Print the PMCP Application Form and complete the required fields.

2. Fax the completed form and the required identification documents to 514-875-6484 or 518-298-3457.

3. Send us the required deposit (at least 15% for orders worth less than $100,000 and at least 50% for orders worth over $100,000) or your full payment by bank wire, following the instructions we send you by email.

4. Place your order

Once we receive your funds, you can place your order over the phone or online by signing in at: https://online.kitco.com/pmcp/. Any balance that remains due must be paid within 24 hours by bank wire only.

Initially, you can submit your PMCP application by fax or email. Once we review and verify it, we will send you a confirmation email requesting you to mail us the original application, which is required by the Perth Mint.

A signatory is an individual who has the ability to purchase and sell Perth Mint certificates on an account. Every signatory must be included on the application form and provide the required identification documents.

“Individual” and “Joint” signatures refer to the capacity vested in the signatories on a PMCP account to sell Perth Mint certificates. If the “Individual” option is selected, any individual on the account can sell a certificate without confirmation from any other signatory. If the “Joint” option is selected, every signatory must sign to authorize the sale of a certificate.

The Perth Mint has to comply with Australia’s Anti Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Act. To do this, it has set strict requirements for all its agents (including Kitco) to correctly and incontrovertibly identify every customer who buys or sells Perth Mint Certificates. To fulfill these requirements, you have to submit certain documents to Kitco, details of which are provided below.

An individual customer must submit at least two documents that together prove their full name, date of birth and residential address. These documents may include the customer’s:

• Passport (recommended)
• Driver’s license (recommended)
• Birth certificate
• National identity card (bearing your photo and signature)
• Citizenship certificate

At least one of the above documents should be a photographic identity document. Post box addresses are unacceptable unless accompanied by a full residential address. A recent utility bill may be submitted as proof of address so long as the other document is a photographic identity document.

If the customer is a company, the following aspects of its identity must be proven.

• Full name and country of formation, incorporation or registration
• Full address in the country of formation, incorporation or registration
• Whether or not the company is registered by the relevant registration body
• Registered companies must submit proof of their identification number (if any) and their registration type (public, private or other)
• The names of each director and shareholder, if the company is private or proprietary

Usually, the following documents are required to establish the above identification.

• Certificate of Registration
• Company Statement
• Articles of Incorporation

If the customer is a trust, its full name, type and country of establishment must be identified. Usually, the Trust Deed contains this information. In addition, the trustees must also submit all the identification documents required for individuals (if they are individuals) or companies (if a trustee is a company).

Certified photocopies of all documents are required. The Perth Mint will open an account even if these certified copies are scanned and emailed or faxed to it. However, the account will remain blocked until the Mint physically receives all certified photocopies by mail or courier.

Documents may be certified by one of the following professionals:

• A legal practitioner
• A medical practitioner
• A pharmacist
• A Justice of the Peace
• A Commissioner for Declarations
• A Commissioner for Affidavits
• A Notary Public
• A police officer
• An Australian consular or diplomatic officer
• A member of the Australian Institute of Chartered Accountants, CPA or National Institute of Accountants

For the certification to be acceptable, each document must bear the statement, “This is a true copy of the original document sighted by me.” Furthermore, on each document copy, the certifier should sign and print their name, state their occupation or profession, write the date of certification, affix their official seal or stamp (if applicable) and provide their address and telephone number. Justices of the Peace also need to provide their registration numbers and jurisdictions of registration.

Kitco is also required to ask you to re-submit any identification document that has expired since you last submitted it. The Perth Mint will block the accounts of all existing Perth Mint Certificate holders who have not provided physical certified copies of the relevant documents until they do so.

Yes, you can purchase Perth Mint Certificates for an IRA account. For further information, call 1-877-775-4826.

Yes, you can purchase Perth Mint certificates for a company or a trust. However, specific documentation is required in each instance. For further information, call 1-877-775-4826.

No, a child under the age of 18 years cannot act as a signatory on a Perth Mint account. However, a child can be designated as a beneficiary to whom the certificate would pass in the event of the death of the main signatory or signatories. To transfer a Perth Mint Certificate to a designated beneficiary, we would require supplemental documents such as a will and death certificate. For further information, call 1-877-775-4826.

Yes, the following fees are charged for purchasing a Perth Mint Certificate.
For unallocated certificates:
U.S. $50 certificate fee per metal purchased

For allocated certificates:
U.S. $50 certificate fee per allocated product purchased

Metal-specific storage fees (1.5% of metal value for gold and 2.5% of metal value for silver)

The storage fees, based on current spot prices, are continuously updated on our online store.

If your Perth Mint certificate is lost or destroyed, please call 1-877-775-4826. We will provide you with the correct paperwork to have a new certificate printed (for a fee of U.S. $50).

To sell your Perth Mint Certificate:

1. Call 1-877-775-4826 for instructions on how to complete the correct fields on the reverse of the certificate.
2. If your sale is worth over U.S. $50,000, make sure that you have sufficient funds on account to cover a 15% deposit for us to lock in your price. Without this deposit, you will have to wait until Kitco receives the physical certificate(s) for your selling price to be determined.
3. Fax a copy of the front and back of the certificate to Kitco. Once we receive this fax, you will be able to lock in a price for your sale.
4. As soon as a price is locked in, courier your original certificate to our Montreal office. Because all Perth Mint orders are time-sensitive, it is vital that we receive your certificate as soon as possible.
5. When the original certificate is received, we will process your order and forward your payment.

You can also sell part of your certificate, and have a new certificate issued (at the cost of U.S. $50) for the unsold portion. For further information, call 1-877-775-4826.

No, we do not sell unallocated palladium through the Perth Mint Certificate Program. However, customers who possess these certificates can sell them through Kitco. For information, call 1-877-775-4826.

Perth Mint Certificates should not be given to anyone who is not a signatory on the account. No one but a signatory can liquidate a Perth Mint certificate. You do have the option of transferring your certificate upon the completion of some paperwork. For further information, call 1-877-775-4826.

Yes, you can sell any Perth Mint certificate to Kitco, whether it was purchased through us or another approved dealer. We will require your SEC number when initiating the sale transaction. The SEC number is an identification number that dealers use when communicating customer transactions to the Perth Mint.

Yes, there are minimum purchase requirements for Perth Mint transactions. They are as below:
First transaction: U.S. $10,000, excluding certificate fees
Subsequent transactions: U.S. $5,000, excluding certificate fees

The requirements for locking in the price on any Perth Mint Certificate transaction are as follows:

* Transaction values are considered in USD for U.S. dollar transactions and in USD equivalents for transactions in all other currencies, rounded up to the nearest $1000.
** A credit card is not an acceptable method of payment. Your credit card will only be used to lock in your price. However, if you cancel your transaction and, as a result, owe Kitco any market loss charges, we reserve the right to charge them to your card.
*** Cleared funds on account are funds against which no claim is pending and a cleared pool holding is one that is fully paid for and against which no claims are outstanding.

Kitco accepts the following methods of payment for Perth Mint transactions:

• Bank wire
• Cleared funds held on a Kitco account

At the end of the online ordering process, payment instructions will be posted on your online account transaction details.

They can also be sent to you by email upon request.

Payment for balances due on Perth Mint transactions must be made by bank wire only. Bank wire transfers must be received within four (4) Business Days of transaction confirmation, failing which your transaction may be considered as being cancelled and you may be liable to us for market loss repayments as explained in our Cancellation Policy.