Shaikh Hamad bin Salman Al Khalifa, Assistant Undersecretary for Domestic and Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, announced the launch of the new expansion of the X-ray testing line for precious metals, featuring a new device that utilises non-destructive radiological examination technology from Helmut Fischer.
Shaikh Hamad bin Salman emphasised the ministry’s keenness to strengthen the supervisory centre’s role over locally manufactured and imported jewelry before it enters the local markets. This initiative aims to explore innovative alternatives to inspection through the utilisation of more advanced techniques.
The work team has undergone extensive practical training on the utilisation of this technology, aiming to achieve the highest levels of accuracy and reliability in examining precious metals and controlling the legal carats of jewelry, he added.
The assistant undersecretary highlighted the significant development throughout the year 2023 in the services for examining and stamping precious metals provided by the Ministry’s Metals Assay Centre.
This progress is attributed to the measurement of performance indicators and the implementation of various initiatives aimed at enhancing the level of services provided at the centre, thereby bolstering the kingdom’s regional position, he added.
Bahrain is recognised as one of the active markets committed to meeting the technical requirements for jewelry and precious crafts. These achievements culminated in the Metals Assay Centre receiving a Gold Category rating in the Customer Experience Evaluation Programme for Government Service Centres for the third consecutive year in 2023.
In 2023, the Metal Inspection Centre fulfilled over 43,000 inspection and stamping requests for jewelry and alloys, handling a combined weight exceeding nine tons of precious metals and assessing over 1,180,000 jewelry pieces in total.
Immediate inspection and hallmarking services are provided on the same day for over 90,000 high-value jewelry pieces featuring pearl and diamond pieces. Additionally, more than 46,000 chemical and radiological examinations of jewelry samples were completed during the year.
BNA(R)
