science

Good Delivery

Good Delivery is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Good Delivery rather than just read about it. In short: The Good Delivery specification is a set of rules issued by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) describing the physical characteristics of gold and silver bars used in settlement in the wholesale London bullion market. It also puts forth requirements for listing on the LBMA Good Delivery List of approved refineries.

Key takeaways

Good Delivery belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Good Delivery to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Good Delivery from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Good Delivery specification is a set of rules issued by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) describing the physical characteristics of gold and silver bars used in settlement in the wholesale London bullion market. It also puts forth requirements for listing on the LBMA Good Delivery List of approved refineries. Good Delivery bars are notable for their large size and high purity. They are known for their distinctive trapezoidal prism, a product of the mould which helps create a uniform production and consistent sloped faces, referred to as a draft or undercut.

The Good Delivery Rules for Gold and Silver Bars The entire Good Delivery specification is contained in the LBMA document titled The Good Delivery Rules for Gold and Silver Bars: Specifications for Good Delivery Bars and Application Procedures for Listing. The document includes specific requirements regarding the fineness, weight, dimensions, appearance, marks, and production of gold and silver bars. It specifies procedures for weighing, packing, and delivery. It also describes policies for ensuring refiners' compliance with the specifications. The current edition of the Good Delivery Rules was published in January 2026.

Basic specifications

Gold bars Fineness: minimum of 995.0 parts per thousand fine gold Marks: serial number, refiner's hallmark, fineness, year of manufacture Gold content: 350–430 troy ounces (11–13 kg) Recommended dimensions Length (top): 210–290 millimetres (8.3–11.4 inches) Width (top): 55–85 millimetres (2.2–3.3 inches) Height: 25–45 millimetres (0.98–1.77 inches)

Silver bars Fineness: minimum of 999.0 parts per thousand silver Marks: serial number, refiner's hallmark, fineness, year of manufacture Silver content: 900–1,100 troy ounces (28–34 kg) from January 1, 2025 on; 750–1,100 troy ounces (23–34 kg) for Bars manufactured after January 1, 2008; 500–1,250 troy ounces (16–39 kg) for Bars manufactured prior to January 1, 2008 Recommended dimensions Length (top): 250–350 millimetres (9.8–13.8 inches) Width (top): 110–150 millimetres (4.3–5.9 inches) Height: 60–100 millimetres (2.4–3.9 inches) Weight is not recommended to be stamped on bars of either gold or silver, because bars will be officially weighed on delivery, and this weight, which may be different from that originally marked, will prevail. A bar's weight may also change by handling or sampling, thus invalidating the original mark.

Non–Good Delivery Bars that do not comply with Good Delivery rules are termed Non–Good Delivery. If they are similar to Good Delivery bars but do not fully meet the requirements, they must be stamped with "NGD" to distinguish them from conforming bars.

LBMA Good Delivery List The LBMA maintains two Good Delivery Lists of approved refineries (one for gold and one for silver) that meet certain minimum criteria (age, net worth, and production volume) and have demonstrated their ability to produce Good Delivery bars. Listed companies agree to submit to monitoring by the LBMA. Those listed companies that refuse to participate in regular monitoring are removed from the Good Delivery List and added to the Former List.

Good Delivery Referees Five companies are accredited by the LBMA as Good Delivery Referees in order to supervise the Good Delivery System and monitor the companies with Good Delivery certification. The referees' main functions are:

Technical assessment of applicants for listing Proactive monitoring of refiners on the Good Delivery List Provision of technical advice on a range of topics The companies accredited as referees are:

Argor-Heraeus SA (Switzerland) Metalor Technologies SA (Switzerland) PAMP SA (Switzerland) Rand Refinery (PTY) Ltd (South Africa) Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K. (Japan)

See also Doré bar Gold as an investment Gold bar Gold reserve Gold standard Inflation hedge London Platinum and Palladium Market Palladium as an investment Platinum as an investment Refining (metallurgy) Silver as an investment Silver standard

References

External links LBMA – Good Delivery Explained LBMA – Good Delivery Rules

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Good Delivery

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Good Delivery claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Good Delivery before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Good Delivery ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Good Delivery

In research: Good Delivery appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Good Delivery in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Good Delivery is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Gold, International standards, Precious metals as investment, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Good Delivery outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Good Delivery in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Good Delivery means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Good Delivery out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Good Delivery in simple terms?

Why does Good Delivery matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Good Delivery?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Good Delivery.