China Is World’s No. 1 Gold Producer for 6th Year

[TexasTowelie]

BEIJING – China produced 403.05 tons of gold in 2012, setting a record for annual production and retaining the title of world’s top gold producer for a sixth year, an industry association said Thursday.

Production of the precious metal rose 11.66 percent last year, compared to 2011, thanks to government policies that “have favored” the industry in recent years, the Chinese Gold Association said in a statement.

China’s 10 largest gold companies, located in the central provinces of Shandong, Henan and Jiangxi, accounted for 82.71 percent of total production of the precious metal in 2012.

The Asian giant overtook South Africa in 2007 as the world’s No. 1 producer of gold.

More at http://laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=675332&CategoryId=13280 .

[dipsydoodle]

1. Hidden assets

I'd never thought of China in connection with gold mining.

[TexasTowelie]

2. They are also major producers in the mining of rare earth metals

that are found in consumer electronics.

[dipsydoodle]

4. I knew about the rare earth stuff

US has too but they barred mining it and now just whine when the Chinese restrict exports.

[dimbear]

3. Gold production can be very damaging to the environment if cyanides or mercury

are involved, and environmentally safe alternatives are more expensive. Wonder which they chose.

[eridani]

5. That's where being a one party dictatorship comes in handy n/t

[secondwind]

6. Didn't they buy a large land mass in Afghanistan so they could harvest the copper? They planned to

detonate and blow up giant ruins there, so they could get at the copper.