At that time, the population of Western Australia (WA) was growing rapidly (23,000 in 1869 and 180,000 in 1900) due to the discovery of rich gold deposits at Coolgardie, Kalgoorlie and the Murchison region.

In the 32 years up to 1931, the Perth Mint struck more than 106 million gold sovereigns, and nearly 735,000 half-sovereigns (intermittently between 1900 and 1920), for use as currency in Australia and throughout the British Empire.

[6] In 2003, the Perth Mint officially opened an 8,400-square-metre (90,000 sq ft) state-of-the-art manufacturing facility next door to its original limestone building.

It mints coins and bars from both Australian gold and metal sourced from other countries, representing 10 percent of the global production.

The app allowed users to buy, sell and trade digital certificates representing physical gold or silver held at the Perth Mint.

[22] In March 2023, The Perth Mint responded to claims from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Four Corners program that it had faced the prospect of recalling $9 billion of one-kilogram (2.2 lb) bars from China in 2018.

[24] In June 2020, an investigation by the Australian Financial Review found that Perth Mint had purchased annually from a convicted killer in Papua New Guinea.

[26][27] On 27 July it was reported that HSBC and JP Morgan stopped buying gold from Perth Mint, citing potential damage to their reputation.

[31] On 20 October 2020, the Australian Financial Review reported that the Perth Mint allowed clients of a tax haven bank, which was being investigated for its links with global organised crime syndicates, to purchase more than $100 million of gold without conducting the identity checks required to prevent money laundering.

[32] On 30 August 2022, Australia's Financial Crimes regulator, AUSTRAC, appointed an external auditor to investigate concerns about how the Perth Mint complies with its obligations under Australian Money Laundering legislation.

[35][36] All three institutions provide offshore banking services to clients who may be seeking to avoid tax or disguise the true ownership of their assets.

In September 2018 the Perth Mint defended its decision not to make disclosure announcements to the ASX and New York Stock Exchange on the grounds the breach did not relate to its ASX-listed PMGold or NYSE listed AAAU investment products.

[37] In June 2020 the Perth Mint said it would stop processing metal from artisanal and small-scale miners after allegations that it took gold dug in Papua New Guinea using child labour and toxic mercury.