The World Gold Council (WGC) aims to establish a unified framework for responsible mining standards to consolidate and standardize various approaches, as stated by WGC Chief Financial Officer Terry Heyman. These standards address how mines should operate, environmental concerns, and the safeguarding of human and labor rights, as he informed Businessline during an online interview.
“We are heavily invested in responsible mining. Our Responsible Gold Mining Principles outline what any large-scale gold miner should adhere to regarding mining practices, environmental concerns, and human and labor rights,” said Heyman.
The WGC is committed to this consolidated mining standard, which can be adopted by mining companies globally, regardless of their development stage. “It’s essential for the mining industry at large to assure everyone that their products are mined responsibly,” he added, highlighting the support for responsible purchasing organizations.
“There are established strong codes of practice. This area requires ongoing scrutiny and continuous improvement,” he noted. Heyman emphasized that linking physical and digital gold could create new opportunities in India, as the WGC explores shared infrastructure.
Heyman detailed businesses’ requirements to venture into the digital space: “Companies aim to develop new digital products and have numerous ideas regarding these products, their digital interfaces, and identifying target customers. However, they often struggle to connect these products to gold stored in a vault, recognizing the need for a physical connection.”
The WGC intends to facilitate this connection, leveraging its network of infrastructure providers specializing in gold vaulting and assurance services. “We can coalesce these elements and effectively deliver a package as a service, allowing product providers to link their tokens or collateralization products back to this pool of gold,” he stated.
The WGC’s initiative also addresses the growing investment demand for gold, particularly within the Indian market. Heyman noted that investment demand, both in value and volume, saw a significant increase in 2025. “There exists tremendous potential for expanding investment products, with digital gold being one aspect,” he affirmed.
The council anticipates further development in the digital gold space and can support new product providers by establishing a bridge between digital and physical gold. “We want to ensure that all digital gold products can ultimately be connected to physical gold stored in a vault,” he remarked.
According to Heyman, it is crucial that every token or product, whether for collateralization or lending, is fully backed by gold. “However, we have yet to see a genuine connection to real-world assets. Gold is considered the ultimate store of value and is widely acknowledged,” he added.
The WGC aims to effectively bridge the gap between physical and digital gold to instill confidence that the gold exists, is assured, and has independent verification. Notably, historically, gold ETFs represent a similar concept of digitalized gold, albeit not through contemporary financial innovations.
In the context of India, gold’s importance as a form of jewelry remains significant. The WGC maintains a positive outlook for both the jewelry and investment sectors in the country. While it abstains from providing price forecasts, the council believes individuals will increasingly recognize the need to hold gold as part of a balanced investment portfolio.
Heyman emphasized that the mining community is committed to fostering trust in the entire gold value chain, striving to ensure that consumers can trust their gold and have confidence that any digital products are backed by physical gold. Recognizing the exciting state of digitalization in India, he noted the country’s longstanding belief in gold’s role in securing financial stability across generations.
