Buyers may choose gold doré instead of finished bullion mainly because doré can offer better economics, refinery flexibility, and direct access to the refining margin.
Why buyers prefer Doré gold
Potentially lower purchase price
Doré is generally sold below the price of refined 99.5%–99.99% bullion because it still requires refining.
A buyer with an efficient refinery relationship may therefore achieve a better overall acquisition cost.
Refining margin opportunity
A refinery or large bullion trader can buy doré, refine it, and recover high-purity gold.
If the purchase price and refining costs are favorable, the buyer can capture a margin between the doré acquisition cost and the value of the refined gold.
Large-volume supply
Doré is commonly produced directly from mining operations, so buyers can potentially establish regular supply contracts rather than purchasing already-refined bars from the open bullion market.
Flexibility in refining
The buyer can send the doré to its preferred accredited refinery.
The refinery determines the final recoverable gold, silver and other payable metals through assay.
Silver and other payable metals
Doré may contain significant silver alongside gold. Depending on the assay and refinery terms, the buyer may receive additional value from payable silver.
Suitable for institutional buyers
Refineries, bullion dealers, banks and large commodity traders with appropriate infrastructure may prefer doré because their business model is designed around assay → refining → bullion production.