The World Gold Council, the marketing arm of the gold mining industry, now represents 38% of global gold production after seven new members join the organization, taking total membership to 24 companies, the WGC said in a statement Wednesday.

This represents a 17% increase in production terms for the WGC while the seven new members represent around 5% of global production, the statement said.

The new members are Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. (AEM), Cambior Inc. (CBJ), Coeur D'Alene Mines Corp. (CDE), Eldorado Gold Corp. (EGO), Goldcorp Inc. (G.T), IAM Gold Corp. (IAG) and Kinross Corp. (K.T).

The WGC drives marketing initiatives to raise gold demand but also seeks to spread ownership as a reserve assets and of gold investment products.