Know what you have.
Then decide.
Certified mineral analysis, accurate, fast, and fully documented. The number on a Maxmetal assay is the number. Not an estimate. Not a range.
Every mineral transaction has a number at its centre.
The question is: whose number is it?
If you are selling your gold, your gemstones, or any mineral without a certified assay from a licensed operation, the number in that transaction belongs to the buyer. They decided what your material is worth. They told you the purity. They gave you the figure you negotiated from. And without an independent certified result, you had no basis to say they were wrong.
That is not a fair transaction. It is a transaction conducted on someone else's terms, with your material.
An assay from Maxmetal changes the dynamic completely. You arrive at any transaction, with any buyer, at any price, in any market, holding a document that states exactly what your material contains, produced by a licensed operation using a certified methodology, and verifiable by the person sitting across from you.
The number is yours. It is certified. And it is the number the conversation starts from.
Assaying at Maxmetal serves every client in Uganda's mineral chain.
It is the most widely used service we offer, because the question "what exactly do I have?" applies to every mineral, every client type, and every stage of the mineral value chain.
Miners & Artisanal Dealers
You want to know the real value of your mineral before you agree to any price.
Whether you have gold, a gemstone, or another mineral, a Maxmetal assay gives you a certified, documented result that is yours to take into any sale. You negotiate from evidence. Not from someone else's offer.
Request an AssayExport Companies & Commercial Buyers
You need a certified mineral analysis your buyers and export agencies will accept.
Our assay certificates are produced under active DGSM licensing with full methodology documentation, meeting the standards that international buyers, financial counterparties, and export compliance frameworks require on arrival.
Discuss Your RequirementPrivate Clients, Institutions & Investors
You need an independent mineral assessment you can stake a decision on.
Whether you are evaluating a mineral asset, preparing for an investment conversation, or verifying the content of a mineral holding, a Maxmetal assay gives you a certified, independent result that carries the weight of a licensed, regulated operation.
Contact Our TeamAssaying is the precise determination of what a mineral contains.
Assaying is the process by which a mineral sample is analysed to determine its exact composition, specifically, the percentage of valuable material it contains relative to everything else. For gold, that means the purity expressed as a fineness figure or percentage. For gemstones, it means the grading and quality determination that establishes market value. For other minerals, it means the compositional analysis that establishes what the material actually is and what quantity of each component is present.
The output of an assay is not an opinion. It is a certified result produced by a defined methodology, carried out by qualified personnel, under the authority of a licensed operation. A Maxmetal assay certificate states the methodology used, the result produced, and the credentials of the operation that issued it. Every element on that certificate is there because it is required, by the market, by the regulatory framework, and by the clients who rely on it.
What assaying is not is a valuation. An assay tells you what your mineral contains. What you choose to do with that result, refine it, sell it as-is, negotiate a higher price, take it to a different buyer, is your decision, made with complete information. That is exactly how it should work.
At Maxmetal, we conduct assaying across gold, gemstones, and the range of minerals Uganda produces. If you are unsure whether your material falls within our scope, contact us before you come in. We will give you a straight answer.
- Minerals Assayed
- Gold, gemstones, base metals, and the full range of Uganda's mineral output, confirmed at intake consultation
- Methodology
- Certified analytical methodology documented in full on every certificate, specific methodology confirmed based on mineral type at intake
- Output Formats
- Assay certificate with full compositional analysis, methodology notation, chain-of-custody reference, and DGSM license reference
- Minimum Sample
- Confirmed at intake, we work with samples at all scales from individual artisanal lots to commercial consignments
- Documentation Produced
- Certified assay certificate, methodology documentation, chain-of-custody record, weight receipt
- Licensing
- Active DGSM Mineral Refinery and Dealer License, independently verifiable through Uganda's MCRS portal
- Turnaround
- Confirmed at intake based on mineral type, consignment size, and current schedule
From sample to certified result.
The assaying process at Maxmetal follows the same documented standard on every engagement, regardless of mineral type, consignment size, or client. Here is what that looks like from the moment you arrive.
Your sample is received, weighed, and formally documented.
At intake, your mineral sample is weighed on certified scales, described in full, and formally recorded with your name, the date, and the condition of the material on arrival. You receive a signed, dated intake receipt before the sample moves to analysis.
This receipt is the first link in your chain-of-custody record, the document that anchors everything the assay produces back to what you physically brought in.
Your sample is prepared for analysis according to its mineral type.
Different minerals require different preparation methodologies before analysis can begin. The preparation process for your specific material is documented as part of the assay record. Nothing is done to your sample that is not noted, and the preparation methodology forms part of the documentation you receive with your certificate.
Your sample is analysed using our certified methodology.
The analysis is conducted by qualified personnel following the methodology appropriate for your mineral type. Every measurement is recorded. The analytical process is not a single test, it is a documented procedure with multiple verification points built in to ensure the result is accurate before it is confirmed.
The result is verified before it is finalised.
Before any result leaves our operation, it goes through an internal verification step, confirming that the analysis was conducted correctly, that the result is consistent with the methodology, and that the certificate reflects the actual output of the process. We do not issue a certificate that this step has not cleared.
Your certified assay result and documentation are returned to you.
Your assay certificate, containing the certified composition result, the methodology used, the chain-of-custody reference, and our DGSM license number, is issued and handed to you along with your complete documentation package. The number on that certificate is the result of a process you can trace from intake to issue.
A Maxmetal assay certificate is a complete document.
Here is what that means.
Client name and contact details
The legal identity of the sample owner as recorded at intake.
Sample reference number
The chain-of-custody identifier connecting this certificate to every document produced during the engagement.
Mineral type and sample description
The material as received and described at intake, the baseline from which the analysis started.
Sample weight at intake
The certified weight of the sample as received, measured on certified scales.
Analytical methodology
The specific procedure applied to the sample, documented so it can be reviewed, audited, or independently evaluated.
Certified compositional result
The exact mineral content of the sample expressed in the standard format for that mineral type, percentage, fineness, or grading specification.
DGSM license reference
Our active mineral refinery and dealer license number, independently verifiable through Uganda's Mining Cadastre and Registry System.
Date of issue and authorising signature
The date the certificate was produced and the signature of the Maxmetal authorised signatory accountable for the result.
The value of an assay certificate is only as good as what it contains. A certificate that states a purity figure without specifying the methodology used to produce it, the license number of the issuing authority, or the chain-of-custody reference that connects it to the original sample is not a complete document. In a compliance review or a commercial dispute, an incomplete certificate is as useful as no certificate at all.
Every Maxmetal assay certificate is built to be complete on its face. Every element the market requires is present. The person receiving this document does not need to call us for context. The certificate tells its own story, from the sample you brought in to the result it produced.
Most Maxmetal engagements begin with an assay.
Here is why that matters.
Before you decide whether to refine your gold, sell your mineral as-is, or take a consignment to an export buyer, there is one question you need answered first: what exactly do you have?
An assay gives you that answer in certified form. And once you have it, every subsequent decision, refine or sell, hold or export, accept an offer or negotiate, is made with documented evidence in your hand rather than someone else's estimate in your head.
This is not a formality. It is the difference between entering a commercial transaction with leverage and entering it without any.
For clients who come to Maxmetal needing refining, smelting, or transaction handling, the pre-service assay is built into the process, it is the first analytical step before any processing begins. But for clients who are not yet sure what they need, or who want to understand the full picture before committing to a service, a standalone assay is the right starting point.
Bring your mineral. Get the result. Then decide what to do with it, with all the information you need to make that decision correctly.
Start with the Assay
Start with the assay. Everything that follows becomes clearer.
Our assay certificates are built to meet international compliance requirements.
For clients whose assay results need to accompany a mineral consignment to an international destination, the standard of the certifying operation is not a secondary consideration. It is a primary qualification. An assay from a non-licensed, non-verifiable source is not a compliance document in international mineral trade. It is a liability.
Maxmetal assay certificates are issued under an active DGSM mineral refinery and dealer license. The license number is printed on every certificate and is independently verifiable through Uganda's Mining Cadastre and Registry System. The methodology is documented in full. The chain-of-custody reference is present. Every element that a destination market compliance framework, a financial counterparty, or an international buyer's legal team will look for is on the certificate before it leaves our operation.
If your destination market has a specific assay documentation requirement beyond our standard certificate format, tell us before your consignment enters our process. We confirm whether we can meet it. If we can, we build it in. If we cannot, we tell you, before you have committed your material to a process that produces documentation that will not serve you.
The questions clients ask before they begin.
We assay gold, gemstones, base metals, and the range of minerals Uganda produces commercially. If you have a mineral you are not certain we cover, contact us before you come in. We will tell you directly whether your material falls within our current scope. We do not take a sample and then discover we cannot complete the analysis.
The assay result is produced by a certified analytical process conducted by qualified personnel following documented methodology. The result is verified internally before it is issued, it does not come from a single measurement, but from a documented process with multiple accuracy checkpoints built in. The methodology is stated on your certificate. If you want to understand exactly how your result was produced, we explain it. Every number has a traceable origin.
Turnaround time depends on the mineral type and our current schedule. We confirm the expected turnaround at intake before you commit. If you have a commercial deadline, a buyer meeting, an export window, a contract decision, tell us when you first contact us. We will give you an honest answer about whether your timeline is achievable before you bring your sample in.
Our certificates are issued under active DGSM licensing, which is Uganda's government mineral regulatory authority. The license is independently verifiable and the certificate contains all standard elements that international mineral buyers and export compliance frameworks require. If your specific buyer or destination market has a stated documentation standard, bring it to us. We confirm whether our certificate meets it before we begin.
Yes. That is one of the primary commercial purposes of a certified assay. A documented, certified compositional result from a licensed operation gives you an independent basis to negotiate from, one that any serious buyer has to acknowledge because the methodology is stated and the issuing authority is verifiable. An informal offer from a buyer who tells you the purity of your own material is not a negotiation. A conversation where you hold a Maxmetal certificate is.
That is a practical and entirely reasonable approach. Contact us before you come in to discuss your situation. We will advise you on sample size requirements, the process for a preliminary analysis, and what a standalone assay result will tell you about your full material. Coming in with a sample before committing your full consignment is not an unusual request, it is a sensible one.
Every Maxmetal assay is conducted under active DGSM licensing and full regulatory compliance.
Our mineral refinery and dealer license is issued by Uganda's Directorate of Geological Survey and Mines and is independently verifiable through the MCRS portal. Our license reference appears on every assay certificate we issue. If your due diligence process requires formal documentation of our licensing and regulatory standing, we provide it on request.
View Our Compliance & LicensingYour assay result opens a clear path forward.
Here is where that path leads.
Gold Refining
If your assay confirms gold content worth refining, we handle the refining process under the same chain-of-custody documentation, producing a certified purity output ready for any market.
See Gold RefiningGemstone Testing & Certification
If your assay covers gemstone content, our gemstone testing service provides the formal grading and certification your stones need for commercial transactions and export documentation.
See Gemstone TestingMineral Consultancy
If your assay raises questions about what to do next, whether to refine, sell, hold, or develop, our consultancy service provides expert advice grounded in the actual result we produced.
See Mineral ConsultancyStart with a certified assay.
Every decision after that
is made on solid ground.
Tell us what mineral you have and what you need the result for. We will confirm the process, the turnaround, and what your certificate will contain, before you commit to anything. The conversation is free. The assay gives you everything.