The RCMP found last month that millions of dollars worth of gold was not stolen from the mint as previously thought. (Canadian Press)

Millions of dollars worth of gold was not stolen from the Royal Canadian Mint's vaults as originally feared, and the apparent loss of precious metals was caused by a series of errors, the institution says.

The mint said in June that gold valued at the time at $15.3 million that was missing from its vaults on Sussex Drive in Ottawa might have been stolen.

But three independent security and accounting reviews found that $8 million worth was simply miscounted, while more than $3 million worth was sold off as slag — at a fraction of its worth. Another $1.6 million worth was found in buildings and machinery in the mint.

"Last month, the RCMP concluded their investigation and established that no theft of gold occurred at the mint," the mint's president and CEO, Ian Bennett, stated Monday. "Today, I am pleased to announce that following extensive and thorough reviews, all precious metals for 2008 have been accounted for."

The federal Crown corporation first recognized the problem when its regular year-end stock review in October 2008 indicated 17,500 ounces of gold — worth more than $20 million at today's prices — was somehow unaccounted for. Typically, the mint accepts deviations in stock counts of no more than 500 ounces.

This led to a 14-month investigation to hunt down the missing precious metal. Several outside groups, including Microsoft and the RCMP, were brought in to check over the mint's security, computer systems and accounting processes, according to a report released by the mint. The RCMP concluded the gold had not been stolen.

Multiple miscues

The vanished gold has been attributed to several internal errors. First, the processes involved in gold refinement cause a small loss of gold, which the mint drastically underestimated in 2008.

Second, the mint unintentionally sold off some gold to U.S. refineries as slag, which is formed when impurities bubble to the surface during the refinement process. Slag has a certain amount of precious metal in it and it is later re-refined to extract the valuable portion.

About 1,500 ounces of gold was also found left over in processing machines.

The mint stated that 2008 was an exceptionally busy year, which saw an increase of over 250 per cent in its gold bullion business due to intense volatility in the market price of gold.

The federal minister responsible for the mint, Minister of State for Transport Rob Merrifield, expressed disappointment with the mistakes Monday and said he will suspend mint executives' discretionary bonuses for 2008.

In its report, the mint said it has made some changes in light of the missing gold mystery. The mint now counts its refinery stock quarterly instead of twice each year, has improved documentation processes, and has consolidated several count procedures under the management of senior finance professionals and a new Precious Metals Controller.

With files from The Canadian Press