Who We Are

Our website address is: https://preciousmetalstswane.co.za. Precious Metals Tswane (“PMT”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) is a South African-based precious metals refinery and jewellery manufacturing company. We are committed to protecting the personal information of all individuals in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, No. 4 of 2013 (“POPIA”).

Purpose of This Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how PMT collects, processes, stores, and protects your personal information as required by POPIA, including your rights under the Act. Our goal is to ensure transparency and security while fulfilling our operational, legal, and regulatory obligations.

Legal Basis for Processing (POPIA Reference: Sections 11–13)

We process personal information:

• With your consent (Section 11(1)(a))
• To fulfill contractual obligations (Section 11(1)(b))
• To comply with legal requirements (Section 11(1)(c))
• To protect legitimate interests (Section 11(1)(f))

Information We Collect and Why

We collect personal information directly from individuals, clients, suppliers, or via automated website technologies for the following purposes:

• Verifying identity and site access control
• Providing services including refining, jewellery casting, and polished diamond supply
• Receiving materials, goods, or services
• Managing employee relations, HR, and payroll
• Complying with tax, regulatory, and legal obligations
• Preventing fraud, crime, or security risks
• Conducting legitimate business research and improvement activities

Website-Specific Information

Comments (POPIA Section 18)

When visitors leave comments on the site, we collect the data shown in the form, along with the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help detect spam.
An anonymised string (hash) created from your email address may be sent to the Gravatar service. See Gravatar’s privacy policy. Once approved, your profile picture is publicly visible alongside your comment.

Media

If you upload images to our website, please avoid uploading images with embedded location (EXIF GPS) data. Other visitors may extract location information from downloaded images.

Cookies

We use cookies for functionality, preferences, and analytics. These may store information such as your name, email, or screen display settings. You can adjust your browser settings to control cookie behavior.

Examples:

• Comment form cookies last for one year
• Login cookies last two days (or two weeks if “Remember Me” is selected)
• Article editing cookies expire after one day

Embedded Content

Our pages may contain embedded media from other websites (e.g., videos, articles). These third-party websites may collect data, use cookies, or track your interaction based on your login status on their platform..

Data Sharing (POPIA Sections 18 & 20)

Your personal information may be shared with:

• Law enforcement or regulatory authorities
• Legal representatives, auditors, or debt recovery services
• Service providers (e.g., couriers, IT support, banks)
• Employees on a need-to-know basis for operational functions

We do not sell or rent personal data to third parties.

Data Security Measures (POPIA Section 19)

We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect personal information:

• Controlled physical access and secured facilities
• Network security and access management
• Safe data destruction and breach response protocols
• Monitoring and safeguarding sensitive information
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Data Retention (POPIA Section 14)

We retain your personal data:

• As long as required by law or contracts
• For statistical, audit, or research purposes
• To support ongoing business operations
• Even after relationships end, where historically or legally necessary

Website comments and their metadata may be retained indefinitely. Registered user profiles are stored unless deleted by the user or administrator.

Your Rights (POPIA Sections 23–25)

You have the right to:

• Access your personal information
• Correct or update your details
• Request deletion or restriction of processing
• Object to direct marketing
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator of South Africa