This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the first 22 ct gold bullion Krugerrand, which was produced on July 3, 1967. Since its launch, more than 53-million ounces of gold, or over 60-million pieces, have been sold in the form of Krugerrands, more than its closest competitors, the Canadian Maple Leaf and the US Eagle. During a visit to Rand Refinery’s facility in Germiston, where the coin is produced, Mining Weekly was told that 2017 is likely to yield the highest sales of Krugerrand coins since the 1980s, with an expected 15% to 20% increase on the 1.1-million ounces of the coins sold in 2016.