Gold Dore Bars from Africa — What They Are and How to Buy Them

If you've researched buying African gold, you've almost certainly come across the term gold dore bar. It's one of the most common forms in which African artisanal gold reaches international markets — and understanding what it is will help you buy smarter, price correctly, and deal with refineries confidently.

This guide explains exactly what dore bars are, how they're made in DRC Congo, how they're priced, what refineries pay for them, and how to acquire them safely through a verified broker.

What Is a Gold Dore Bar?

A gold dore bar (also written as "doré") is an unrefined bar of mixed gold and silver, produced by smelting raw gold material — nuggets, dust, or concentrate — into a solid form for easier transport and handling. The word comes from the French word for "golden."

Dore bars are not pure gold. They are the intermediate step between raw mined material and a fully refined gold bar (99.99% pure). Typical African dore bars run between 60% and 90% gold content, with silver and trace minerals making up the remainder.

How Dore Bars Are Made in DRC

The process begins with artisanal miners in provinces like Ituri, North Kivu, and Maniema extracting alluvial gold from riverbeds and surface deposits through panning, sluicing, or small-scale dredging. The raw material — gold dust and small nuggets — is then:

1. Cleaned and weighed — impurities like sand and gravel are removed
2. Amalgamated or concentrated — gravity separation or mercury amalgamation concentrates the gold
3. Smelted — the concentrate is melted in a crucible at over 1,000°C, burning off most impurities
4. Poured into a mould — the molten metal is cast into a bar shape and allowed to cool
5. Assayed — the resulting dore bar is tested by an independent laboratory to determine exact gold and silver content

The final bar is the dore. It is solid, transportable, and ready for export to a refinery for final processing into 99.99% pure gold.

How Dore Bars Are Priced

Pricing a dore bar requires understanding the gold-silver split and applying the relevant spot prices. Here's how it works:

Refineries typically pay between 96% and 99% of the contained gold value in a dore bar, depending on purity and volume. Higher-purity dore (85%+ gold) commands better terms. DRC dore bars typically run 75–88% gold, which refineries in Dubai and Switzerland actively seek.

What International Refineries Pay for African Dore

Major refineries in Dubai (Emirates Gold, Kaloti, Al Etihad), Switzerland (Valcambi, Argor-Heraeus, PAMP), and India are the primary buyers of African dore. Their typical terms:

• Minimum quantity: Varies — from as low as 5kg to 50kg+ depending on the refinery
• Purity floor: Most require minimum 60% gold content to accept dore
• Payment timeline: 2–5 business days after receipt and assay confirmation
• Price basis: London AM/PM fix or spot at time of delivery
• Documentation required: Origin certificate, export permit, independent assay certificate, chain of custody records

Dore Bars vs Refined Gold Bars — What's the Difference?

Many buyers wonder whether to buy dore directly or wait for refined bars. Here's the practical comparison:

• Dore bars — cheaper per gram of contained gold, require a refinery to process, best for refineries and commodity traders
• Refined bars (99.99%) — ready to trade on global markets, higher per-gram cost, best for investors and dealers
• Alluvial nuggets/dust — raw form, must be assayed individually, highest variability in purity

For buyers who have a refinery relationship or are refineries themselves, dore bars are the most efficient and cost-effective format. Congo Gold Connect can supply both dore bars and refined-equivalent alluvial gold depending on the buyer's needs.

How to Buy Dore Bars from Africa Safely

Buying dore from Africa requires the same due diligence as any African gold transaction — perhaps more, because the unrefined nature creates more room for misrepresentation. Follow these steps:

1. Require an independent assay certificate — not self-issued by the seller. The assay must come from an accredited laboratory.
2. Verify origin documentation — DRC export permits and chain of custody are non-negotiable for OECD-compliant buyers
3. Use escrow payment — funds released only after delivery and buyer-side assay confirmation
4. Arrange third-party inspection — if you can't inspect in person, appoint an inspector in Kampala
5. Confirm the seller's supply chain — legitimate brokers can show you exactly where the gold came from and the documentation trail

Why DRC Dore Is in High Demand in 2026

Global gold demand is at record levels in 2026, driven by central bank buying, geopolitical uncertainty, and institutional investors seeking hard assets. African dore represents one of the few remaining sources of gold that can be acquired at near-spot or slightly below-spot prices, making it highly attractive to refineries looking to maximize margin.

The DRC alone produces an estimated 15–30 tonnes of artisanal gold annually, much of which is exported in dore form. With Congo's state gold trading company now active and the country's first domestic refinery operational as of early 2026, the supply chain is formalising — creating more opportunities for verified international buyers.

Congo Gold Connect sits at the centre of this market, with direct relationships with verified miners and the export infrastructure to deliver DRC dore to Dubai, Switzerland, or any international destination efficiently and compliantly.