The World Gold Council - Who Are They?

The World Gold Council, established in 1987, is an influential organization in the gold industry, primarily focused on promoting a sustainable future for gold through various initiatives. As a membership organization comprising 32 leading global mining companies, the Council aims to enhance understanding, access, and trust within the gold market. Their core functions revolve around driving responsible mining practices and ensuring transparency across the supply chain, with a strong emphasis on high environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards. 

The Council's offerings are vast, providing professional and individual investors with a wealth of resources including Gold Hub, which delivers in-depth data, insights, and analytical tools on gold demand and supply, central bank transactions, and gold's performance against other asset classes. Their research and commentary address critical economic and geopolitical factors influencing gold markets, such as global elections and geopolitical tensions. This includes analysing recent trends like gold ETF inflows and strategic insights into gold's socio-economic contributions and its role in climate change mitigation. 

The target audience of the World Gold Council includes global investors, financial institutions, and stakeholders interested in the strategic and sustainable aspects of the gold industry. With a commitment to transparency and responsibility, the Council distinguishes itself by shaping industry policies and providing strategic insights, data, and analysis crucial for informed investment decisions. They facilitate a deeper understanding of long-term market trends and offer tools to engage with data throughout the investment process, thus reinforcing gold’s significance as a strategic asset. 

The World Gold Council has various projects all over the world, below is just a few examples of the work they're doing to improve trust and transparency within the gold industry. To find out more, visit their website by clicking this link.

The World Gold Council Conflict-Free Gold Standard:

The World Gold Council provide gold producers with a common approach for assessing the way they extract their gold and assuring that they do not support or benefit from unlawful armed conflict or contribute to human rights abuses and breaches of international humanitarian law.

The Gold Bar Integrity Program:

The World Gold Council has partnered with the LBMA to develop and implement an international system of gold bar integrity.  Participants from across the gold industry are piloting distributed ledger (blockchain) technology with the aim of expanding the trusted, closed-loop ecosystem which currently exists for the 400oz gold bar market to also include smaller bars, including kilo bars.

Hallmarking In India:

Hallmarking in India was strongly supported by the World Gold Council, and coupled with the launch of the assaying training institute, hallmarking of gold jewellery became mandatory in India in 2021.

The World Gold Council Logo

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