DUBAI - The UAE Ministry of Economy and Planning's Precious Metal Supervision Committee is formulating new laws that would help government bodies and jewellery manufacturers to examine and determine the purity of precious metals including gold, said Mohammed Jassim Al Muzaka, Under- Secretary, Ministry of Economy and Planning.
"We have laws in place to determine the purity of gold and stamp the hallmarks since 1993 but these laws could not be executed due to lack of sophisticated metal checking laboratories in the country," added Al Muzaka.
"It is essential to have a highly sophisticated laboratoy to examine gold and other similar metals," said Al Muzaka. In the past we only accepted hall marks stamped by authorities in other countries, but from now on we shall depend on new techniques in determining the purity of gold.
" The prevailing laws to determine the purity of precious metals are not adequately in place."
"At the time being we only consider Dubai 's Municipality laboratory as the formal laboratory to perform the job for it has all the required facilities to examine precious metals," he said. Dubai laboratory has all the internationally recognised specifications required to to examine and determine the purity of gold, he added. The UAE has become the region's largest centre for precious metals, especially gold, hence it is necessary to implement the laws and rules necessary for trading in precious metals.
BY SALAH ELDIN ELTAYEB
© Khaleej Times 2004
