<P> On 1 March 1966 the government announced its intention for the pound to be decimalised which would require a large - scale withdrawal and minting of millions of new coins, this, as well as commitments to overseas customers, meant the mint was to be faced with a heavy workload . Lack of space at the mint and with Decimal Day looming it became apparent that the mint needed to again relocate to a larger site . With a degree of urgency plans were made in April 1967 for a new site to be built outside of London, although over twenty sites were considered the small Welsh town of Llantrisant located ten miles (16 km) north - west of Cardiff was chosen Up until now improvements at the Tower Hill mint had cost £ 800,000 . </P> <P> Work on the new mint began in August 1967 with the construction of a blank treatment plant and plant for striking . This first phase of the mint was officially opened on 17 December 1968 by the royal attendance of Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip and their son Prince Charles . Originally there were fears that the Royal family would face protests because of the Investiture of Prince Charles as the Prince of Wales; however, such protests failed to materialise . The second phase of construction began in 1973 and included the addition of a means to mint coins from virgin metals completing the full minting process . Upon completion the final cost for the land, buildings and plant came to £ 8 million . Coin minting and production gradually shifted to the new site over the next seven years until the last coin, a gold sovereign, was struck in London in November 1975 . In an attempt to consolidate all previous coin - related acts, the Coinage Act of 1971 was passed, which among other things effectively abolished the individual role of Master of the Mint . Under this act, the Chancellor of the Exchequer took over the role, with a Deputy Master being appointed by the Treasury to exercise all the powers and duties of the Master within the mint . </P> <P> After moving to Wales, the mint struggled to become profitable as the Western world fell into a deep recession during the early 1970s . To combat a rising national debt, the mint was established as a trading fund on 1 April 1975 which required it to become self - financing . This measure proved successful and the mint started to become profitable through heavy exports.To allow for more financial freedom and better management the mint became an Executive Agency in April 1990 . </P> <P> During the 2008 global financial crisis, a rescue package costing £ 500 billion was announced to help stabilise Britain's banking system . This led to fear that the government would attempt to finance the cost by selling off state - owned organisations . In a 2009 pre-budget report the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling stated that the treasury would "explore the potential benefits of alternative future models for the Royal Mint". A month later in his 2009 United Kingdom budget he recommended that the mint be made a company with a view of it being sold . The decision was met with outrage by unions and opposition parties in parliament who called it the "selling off the family silver" and that it would result in jobs losses . In contrast, the chief executive of the mint Andrew Stafford welcomed the decision stating that it would lead to further growth and secure the future of the business . On 31 December 2009, rather than being fully privatised, the mint ceased to be an executive agency and its assets vested in a limited company, Royal Mint Ltd . The owner of the new company became The Royal Mint trading fund, which itself continued to be owned by HM Treasury . As its sole shareholder the mint pays an annual dividend of £ 4 million to treasury with the remaining profits being reinvested into the mint . In 2015 Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced a £ 20 billion privatisation drive to raise funds with the Royal Mint being up for sale alongside other institutions including the Met Office and Companies House . </P>

Where does the royal mint get its gold from