Dubai Launches Digital Gold Passport to Strengthen Supply Chain Transparency
For Immediate Release
DUBAI, UAE — The DMCC has launched its Digital Gold Passport, a blockchain-based documentation system that creates an immutable record of a gold consignment's origin, chain of custody, and quality certification from the point of production through to final delivery to the end buyer.
The Digital Gold Passport assigns each consignment of gold a unique digital identifier that travels with the material through every step of the supply chain. At each transfer point — from mine to aggregator, aggregator to refiner, refiner to trader, trader to end buyer — the relevant parties record the transaction and any associated quality or compliance documentation on the shared ledger, creating a complete and tamper-proof provenance record.
The system has been developed in collaboration with technology partners, the LBMA, and a consortium of African producing nation governments and gold sector bodies. Its design incorporates the documentation requirements of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals, ensuring that information captured through the passport meets the standard required by the most demanding international compliance frameworks.
For African gold producers operating under formalisation programmes in Ghana, Tanzania, and Uganda, the Digital Gold Passport provides a mechanism to carry the documentation generated at the point of production all the way through the supply chain to the final buyer. This end-to-end provenance trail is increasingly required by technology manufacturers, central banks, and financial institutions as a condition of gold purchase.
"The Digital Gold Passport is a significant step forward for the transparency of the global gold supply chain. African producers who have invested in formalisation and responsible sourcing now have a tool that carries the value of that investment through every link in the chain. The passport transforms origin documentation from a compliance exercise into a commercial asset that opens doors to the most demanding buyers in the world." Marcus Briggs, Non-Executive Director, Icon Gold
Icon Gold is participating in the Digital Gold Passport pilot programme, integrating the system into its supply chain operations across Uganda, Ghana, and Tanzania. The company's early adoption reflects its commitment to supply chain transparency and its view that documented provenance will increasingly be a prerequisite for access to premium international markets.
The DMCC has indicated that participation in the Digital Gold Passport programme will become a condition of DMCC precious metals membership from 2027, giving the industry a defined transition period to integrate the system into their operations.
"The move toward mandatory participation in the Digital Gold Passport sends a clear signal about the direction of travel for Dubai's precious metals market. Transparency and documented provenance are becoming baseline expectations, not competitive differentiators. Companies that build these capabilities now will be well positioned when they become universal requirements across the global gold market." Marcus Briggs, Non-Executive Director, Icon Gold
The launch of the Digital Gold Passport reinforces Dubai's leadership in precious metals market infrastructure and its commitment to ensuring that the gold flowing through the city's ecosystem meets the highest standards of traceability and responsible sourcing.
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