TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Two South African gold miners have recently relinquished their memberships in the World Gold Council (WGC), citing costs as being the main reason driving their decisions.

“We have left the WGC, which is part of our broader focus on costs,” AngloGold Ashanti senior VP for investor relations and group communications Stewart Bailey confirmed on Wednesday.

“The reason for Gold Fields' departure from the WGC was purely a cost decision,” Gold Fields spokesperson Willie Jacobsz echoed in a separate email.

He was quick to dismiss the notion that criticism of the WGC’s ‘all-in sustaining cost’ reporting metric, which Gold Fields CEO Nick Holland played a critical role in developing, had anything to do with the company’s departure.

“[There is] nothing sinister about it at all,” Jacobsz said.

AngloGold and Gold Fields had been busy with aggressive cost-cutting programmes during the last 12 months, as lower grades and rising costs to produce the yellow metal drove down profit, compounded by lower metal prices.

Last year, the precious metal lost about 28% of its value as some investors lost faith in gold as a store of value amid an equity rally and soft inflation.

On Wednesday, Randgold Resources CEO Dr Mark Bristow said the gold mining industry was “fundamentally broke” at a gold price of $1 300/oz.

Gold traded at $1 327.20/oz in New York on Wednesday.

The WGC is the market development organisation for the gold industry and works within the investment, jewellery and technology sectors, while also engaging in government affairs, to provide industry leadership, while stimulating and sustaining demand for gold.

It aims to develop gold-backed solutions, services and markets, based on true market insight and, as a result, it creates structural shifts in demand for gold across fundamental market sectors.

The organisation’s membership comprises some of the world’s largest gold producers, including Barrick Gold Corp, Newmont Mining and Goldcorp, with the world’s largest precious metals streaming firm, Silver Wheaton, last month joined the WGC.

AngloGold produces about one-third of its output in South Africa, while Gold Fields produces about 13% of its output in the country.