The Perth Mint Australia

The Perth Mint is the oldest operating mint in Australia, located in the city of Perth. The foundation stone was laid by Sir John Forrest in 1896, and the mint began operating as a department of the Royal Mint in London in 1899. The Perth Mint operates its own gold smithy and refinery and today manufactures various products from precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum and palladium. These include Sovereign, the Lunar series in gold and silver, the Kookaburra silver coin, the Koala platinum coin and gold bars. By the year 2000, the mint had processed a total of 4500 tons of gold.