Argor-Heraeus SA is a Swiss precious metals refiner on the London Platinum and Palladium Market's Good Delivery list for both platinum and palladium, a status confirmed on the LPPM's own list as retrieved 6 August 2026. The refiner sits among the wider set of platinum group metal refiners that DailyPlatinum tracks for accreditation, purity and product data, and its refining capability, accreditation record, ownership under the Heraeus group and PGM product range follow below, section by section.
What Is Argor-Heraeus?#
Argor-Heraeus SA is a privately held Swiss refiner domiciled in Switzerland, one of four Swiss entities on the LPPM's platinum Good Delivery list, alongside Metalor Technologies, MKS PAMP and Valcambi. The company is not separately listed on a stock exchange and files no public share-price data, consistent with its position inside the Heraeus group's accredited refining network rather than as an independently traded refiner.
The London Platinum and Palladium Market, the body that accredits Argor-Heraeus, describes its own remit as overseeing the standards of platinum, palladium and rhodium worldwide and reports 113 members across 21 countries on its own membership roster, as accessed 6 August 2026. Argor-Heraeus's Swiss listing sits inside that market rather than alongside a separate exchange listing of its own shares.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Legal domicile | Switzerland |
| Ownership structure | Grouped with the Heraeus Precious Metals network on the LPPM's accreditation record |
| Stock exchange listing | None; privately held |
| Headquarters address, founding year | Not established in DailyPlatinum's sources |
Argor-Heraeus's headquarters address and incorporation year are not established to a dated, entity-specific source in DailyPlatinum's records, so this profile states only the domicile and market status the LPPM's own list confirms.
Argor-Heraeus's PGM Refining Capability#
Argor-Heraeus refines platinum and palladium to Good Delivery grade, the two platinum group metals its Swiss operation certifies through the LPPM, with no confirmed accreditation for rhodium, iridium or ruthenium. The LPPM's Good Delivery Rules (June 2020 edition) set a minimum fineness of 99.95% for platinum and palladium plate or ingot, the wholesale trading standard that every Good Delivery refiner, Argor-Heraeus included, must meet on its own five-figure assay determination.
| PGM | Accredited form | Purity standard | Status (as retrieved 6 Aug 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platinum | Plate/ingot | Minimum 99.95% (LPPM Good Delivery Rules, June 2020) | Accredited |
| Palladium | Plate/ingot | Minimum 99.95% (LPPM Good Delivery Rules, June 2020) | Accredited |
| Rhodium | Sponge | LPPM rhodium sponge accreditation | Not on the 19-name roster |
Argor-Heraeus does not appear among the platinum or palladium sponge accreditation additions the LPPM lists separately from the bar roster, and it is not one of the 19 named refiners on the LPPM's rhodium sponge accreditation list as retrieved 6 August 2026. That narrows Argor-Heraeus's confirmed PGM role to platinum and palladium bar refining specifically, distinct from full-spectrum refiners such as Johnson Matthey, which describes itself in its own refining literature as able to undertake full seven-metal separation, covering platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium, silver and gold. Argor-Heraeus's confirmed accreditation record covers only the first two of those seven metals.
The 99.95% minimum fineness that governs Argor-Heraeus's platinum and palladium bars corresponds to the "3N5" purity grade on the industry's standard grade ladder, meaning total impurities capped at 500 parts per million, the wholesale trading grade shared by every LPPM/LBMA Good Delivery bar, every NYMEX/COMEX-deliverable bar, and standard PGM sponge across the refining industry. Argor-Heraeus's feed mix, whether primary mine concentrate, secondary scrap, or both, is not established to a dated source specific to this entity.
Argor-Heraeus and LPPM/LBMA Accreditation#
Argor-Heraeus SA holds LPPM Good Delivery accreditation for both platinum and palladium, the plain wholesale-grade listing rather than a referee or Full Member designation. Reaching that listing requires meeting the LPPM's cumulative applicant tests: an operating history of at least five years, at least three years of refining experience in the metal, an established annual refining production of at least 500 kg of contained platinum or palladium, and a tangible net worth of at least £15 million, verified against the applicant's own five-figure assay agreeing with independent referees' testing at no less than 99.950% purity.
| Accreditation | Status |
|---|---|
| LPPM Good Delivery, platinum | Yes, as retrieved 6 Aug 2026 |
| LPPM Good Delivery, palladium | Yes, as retrieved 6 Aug 2026 |
| LPPM rhodium sponge accreditation | Not listed, as retrieved 6 Aug 2026 |
| LPPM Full Member or referee status | Not established in DailyPlatinum's sources |
The LPPM traces to a 1987 Deed of Establishment that formalized previously informal dealer trading, building on the 1973 London Platinum Quotation and a 1979 agreement between London and Zurich dealers to standardize good-delivery specifications, the same joint London/Zurich list Argor-Heraeus's Swiss listing belongs to today. Since 1 July 2026 the daily LBMA Platinum and Palladium Price benchmarks that this Good Delivery metal ultimately trades against have been administered by ICE Benchmark Administration Limited, following an LPPM announcement on 24 June 2026, a structural change in the market infrastructure around every Good Delivery refiner rather than a fact specific to Argor-Heraeus. No Russian refiner appears anywhere on the LPPM's current Good Delivery lists, a market-structure fact the LPPM's own roster documents alongside Argor-Heraeus's own listing rather than anything specific to Argor-Heraeus itself.
Ownership and Corporate Structure#
Argor-Heraeus SA sits within the Heraeus group's accredited refining network, one of six Heraeus-linked entities the LPPM lists separately for platinum and palladium Good Delivery. The other five operate under Heraeus's own name rather than the Argor-Heraeus brand:
- Heraeus Precious Metals GmbH & Co. KG (Germany)
- Heraeus PGM SA (Pty) Ltd (South Africa)
- Heraeus Limited (Hong Kong)
- Heraeus Precious Metals North America LLC (USA)
- Ravindra Heraeus Private Limited (India)
Parent group Heraeus is a family-owned German technology group headquartered in Hanau, describing itself as approaching its 400th anniversary and organized into Metals & Recycling, Healthcare, Semiconductor & Electronics and Industrials divisions, with its precious metals business sitting in the Metals & Recycling division. Heraeus Precious Metals states it operates eleven locations across all relevant time zones and, separately from Argor-Heraeus specifically, has committed roughly €35 million to expand electrolytic recycling capacity at its Hanau site as part of a wider €300 million global recycling investment program across eight sites worldwide, a scale that situates Argor-Heraeus's own Swiss operation inside a substantially larger group recycling network rather than as a standalone refiner.
The LPPM lists each of the six Heraeus-linked entities, including Argor-Heraeus, as a separate accredited name rather than a single combined listing, so Argor-Heraeus's own Good Delivery status stands on its own record. A specific ownership percentage and transaction date linking Heraeus to Argor-Heraeus circulates in secondary sources but is not confirmed to a single primary document; DailyPlatinum does not state a percentage or date and relies only on the two entities' shared appearance on Heraeus's own accredited-entity list.
PGM Products and Commercial Forms#
Argor-Heraeus's confirmed PGM product is LPPM Good Delivery plate and ingot, the cast or pressed wholesale bar form set at a minimum weight of 1 kg (32.151 troy oz) and a maximum of 6 kg (192.904 troy oz), stamped with the refiner's own recognized mark, the letters PT or PLATINUM (or PD or PALLADIUM) with a purity stamp of four significant figures, an individual serial number of up to 12 digits, the month and year of production, and the weight. Weight is stamped in grams to one decimal place, kilograms to four decimal places, and troy ounces to three decimal places under the LPPM Good Delivery Rules (June 2020 edition), the same specification every accredited refiner's bar output must meet regardless of size.
Beyond that bar business, no dated, entity-specific source in DailyPlatinum's records confirms whether Argor-Heraeus also supplies PGM sponge, salts and solutions, or fabricated forms, the product lines several other Good Delivery refiners publish alongside their bar output.
| Product form | Confirmed for Argor-Heraeus |
|---|---|
| Good Delivery plate/ingot (Pt, Pd) | Yes, minimum 99.95% fineness |
| PGM sponge (Pt, Pd, Rh) | Not established in DailyPlatinum's sources |
| Salts, solutions and fabricated forms | Not established in DailyPlatinum's sources |
Where Argor-Heraeus Coverage Stops on DailyPlatinum#
This page reports Argor-Heraeus's refining capability, accreditation and ownership facts, not investment advice, share-price commentary or stock analysis. Because the Argor-Heraeus name also anchors a bullion-dealer market for gold bars sold and authenticated under that brand, this page covers PGM refining only and does not authenticate, grade or value Argor-Heraeus-branded gold bars, a separate question from the platinum and palladium accreditation facts covered above.
Other Accredited PGM Refiners#
Argor-Heraeus is one of several LPPM-accredited platinum group metal refiners DailyPlatinum tracks, each profiled on its own page for refining capability, accreditation tier and ownership. Other accredited refiners include the names below.
- Johnson Matthey
- Metalor
- Valcambi
- Umicore
- TANAKA Precious Metal Technologies
- BASF Metals
- Sabin Metal Corporation
- Rand Refinery