A rich history
Elephant Refinery is in fact a continuation of the refining activities of Elephant Dental. Established in the 1970s in Hoorn, North Holland, Elephant Dental became part of Dentsply Sirona, the worlds largest dental business, following a series of take-overs. Noting the decline in the use of gold and silver in dentistry the company no longer counted work with precious metals among their core activities, however Elephant Dental were conscious of a sizeable demand in the Benelux countries for the recycling and refining of precious metals. That role has therefore now been taken over by Elephant Refinery.
Staff at Elephant Dental and the management of the Aunexum Precious Metals Group struck a deal and Elephant Refinery was born. The experience and expertise developed by Elephant Dental and the involvement of Aunexum in the various disciplines in the precious metals sector proved to be a winning combination, while the move met Aunexum’s need for in-house refining activities.
About Aunexum Precious Metals Group
Aunexum Precious Metals Group is a group of businesses with activities across a range of precious metal products and services.
Holland Gold handles the purchase and sale of precious metals in the form of coins and ingots, mainly involving private individuals. Holland Gold Safe provide precious metal storage facilities in the Netherlands and Switzerland. Holland Gold holds an AFM permit for the supply of precious metals combined with storage, as well as providing a range of custom services in finance, hedging and leasing.
Meanwhile BGP Edelmetaal are responsible for the collection of scrap gold (such as old rings and chains) from around 200 jewellers. The scrap gold is processed by sister company Elephant Refinery to generate raw materials like gold and silver. Elephant Refinery also recycle defunct electronic components like circuit boards, industrial products and waste and also dental gold, which often contains a variety of scarce materials besides gold and silver.
