Further to recent articles containing unfounded rumours and allegations alleging that the Perth Mint does not have physical precious metals (especially silver) to back its storage programmes or to make deliveries we have received a few phone calls and emails from concerned clientele.

Both the Perth Mint and Gold Investments strongly refute these absolutely baseless allegations.

Firstly, it is important to remember that the Perth Mint is owned by the Government of Western Australia and is run within very strict and ethical guidelines. The Perth Mint does not and would not contravene the law and act in a manner which would embarrass its government owner. Indeed because it is government owned it has to be absolutely scrupulous in adhering to strict business procedures. For every ounce of precious metal that is sold to a client, the Perth Mint must buy a corresponding ounce in the marketplace. The Perth Mint is audited rigorously by the Auditor General of Western Australia as well as by internal auditors Price Waterhouse Coopers, to ensure that this policy is maintained at all times.

The Perth Mint holds full inventory confirmations on a quarterly basis as well as the comprehensive audits. The Perth Mint Depository programs are not permitted to, and do not, run short positions under any circumstances The Perth Mint does not lease metal out to mining or exploration companies and does not undertake precious metal derivative transactions.

The Mint shares concerns about pool and unallocated accounts where it cannot be established if the operator is backing its liabilities to investors. Gold Investments would advise investors to research and question any program or facility they are investing in.

The Perth Mint Certificate Program remains one of the world's safest and securest ways of owning gold and silver offshore. All methods of investing in precious metals have pros and cons. However we are confident that the AAA rated government Perth Mint is the safest option when it comes to third party precious metal ownership.

This is because of the important and crucial distinctions pertaining to the Perth Mint:

• The Perth Mint is one of the oldest operating mints in the world, set up as it was in 1899. The Perth Mint is wholly owned by the Government of Western Australia and has been providing secure vault storage of precious metals since that time.

• Western Australia is rated AAA by the US international credit rating agency, Standard and Poor's. While S&P have rightly been criticised in recent times, this is a bona fide and justified credit rating as Western Australia is one of Australia's wealthiest states, with some of the largest concentrations of mineral and natural resource wealth in the world.

• All PMCP precious metals are insured (at The Perth Mint's expense) by Lloyds of London.

• The Perth Mint is operated by the Gold Corporation, a unique diversified Australian precious metals refinery and mint created by statute in 1987 and wholly owned by the Government of Western Australia.

• Investors have a private client relationship with The Perth Mint.

• Gold Corporation is the eleventh largest exporter in Western Australia and has a 40% interest in AGR Matthey, Australia's only major gold refiner and one of the world's largest refineries. Western Australia's goldfields are a major world source of world gold. The Perth Mint, through its interest in AGR Matthey, refines all of Australia's mine output, together with gold produced in several neighboring countries, averaging over 400 tonnes of gold per annum. Gold Corporation is the official producer of Australia's legal tender gold and silver bullion coins which are marketed to investors throughout the world. It also mints Australian commemorative or numismatic coins and produces collector coins on behalf of several overseas issuing authorities.

• PMCP clients have an overseas relationship with a Government Vault, Mint and Refinery and not a foreign bank. The Perth Mint is not a bank but a refinery and mint and has no exposure to the housing, derivative and credit markets.

Investors are right to be wary of pool accounts and unallocated accounts held with financial institutions that are exposed to the deteriorating credit and financial crisis. Some may be sound while others may not be. The Perth Mint is in no way exposed to the global financial crisis. Quite the opposite - given the nature of their business they are experiencing unprecedented levels of business and are as profitable as ever. Also, the natural resource boom makes Western Australia one of the safest regions in the world in which to invest one's wealth.

It is important to remember that PMCP investors can convert from unallocated to allocated and take delivery at any time. For further information on this and the distinction between allocated and unallocated bullion in the PMCP please see http://www.perthmint.biz/investment/allocvsunalloc.aspx.

At the moment there is a delay of some 2 to 3 weeks on delivery of smaller silver coins and bars however 1 kilo bars and 1000 ounce bars are being regularly delivered from the refinery and will be allocated to clients in line with demand. If you have become concerned, then for peace of mind you could convert some of your unallocated holdings to allocated. If a client feels unsafe or exposed we would encourage them to sell their holding, go allocated or take delivery.

If customers have concerns regarding unallocated storage in the Perth Mint we advocate buying allocated Perth Mint certificates, storing in personal allocated accounts in VIA MAT Zurich and or taking possession of one's bullion (or a combination thereof as some will not feel comfortable taking possession of large quantities of bullion and others prefer to have their bullion stored in another jurisdiction ). We could not be any clearer and direct in our exhortations to present and potential clients that the present web-based criticism of the Perth Mint is wholly unsubstantiated and that the Perth Mint's Depository products represent both value and safety for investors in these uncertain times.

Further confirmation of our firm stance regarding the importance of being certain regarding the ownership of your precious metals can be seen in articles done by Gold Investments' executive director Mark O'Byrne and our US consultant Mike Clark:
http://www.goldassets.co.uk/articles/Storing_Bullion_Internationally.htm
http://www.goldassets.co.uk/articles/Are_Your_Precious_Metals_Held_By_A_Third_Party.htm