China's H1 gold bullion output up 3.25 pct - CGA
Shanghai. August 5. INTERFAX-CHINA - China produced 164.42 tons of gold bullion in the first half (H1) this year, up 3.25 percent year-on-year, the China Gold Association (CGA) announced Aug. 4.
China's gold miners produced a total of 137.03 tons of gold bullion and compound gold over the period, up 4.23 percent year-on-year.
Gold bullion produced by smelting companies using compound gold, scrap gold and imported ore for feedstock, grew by 10.34 percent year-on-year to 86.5 tons.
The table below shows China's top gold mining regions for the first half (H1) of 2011.
| Rank | Region | Production (tons) | Y-o-y change (%) |
| 1 | Shandong | 27.92 | 1.67 |
| 2 | Henan | 13.46 | 5.84 |
| 3 | Jiangxi | 1.70 | -13.33 |
| 4 | Fujian | 8.20 | -36.67 |
| 5 | Hunan | 6.98 | 20.65 |
| 6 | Shaanxi | 4.82 | -21.52 |
| 7 | Inner Mongolia | 6.65 | 11.03 |
| 8 | Anhui | 2.76 | 7.94 |
| 9 | Yunnan | 4.94 | -4.31 |
| 10 | Gansu | 3.40 | -4.23 |
Source: China Gold Association
Nonferrous metals smelting companies produced 31.87 tons of gold bullion over the six-month period, down 1.78 percent year-on-year. The top five nonferrous metals smelters accounted for 82.27 percent of the sector's total gold output.
Top five nonferrous metals smelters by gold production, H1 2011
| Rank | Company | Production(tons) | Y-o-y change (%) |
| 1 | Jiangxi Copper Group | 12.84 | 23.29 |
| 2 | Anhui Tongling Nonferrous Metals Co. Ltd. | 5.75 | 16.20 |
| 3 | Hubei Daye Nonferrous Metals Co. Ltd. | 2.70 | -10.97 |
| 4 | Jiangxi Hefeng Copper Co. Ltd. | 2.51 | 2.12 |
| 5 | Zhejiang Fuchunjiang Smelter | 2.43 | -8.45 |
Source: China Gold Association
Gold refinery companies produced 54.63 tons of gold bullion in the January to June period, expanding 18.90 percent from the same period a year earlier. The top five gold companies contributed 87.67 percent of all gold produced by the country's gold refineries during the period.
The table below shows China's top five gold smelting companies for the first half of the year.
Top five gold smelting companies, H1 2011
| Rank | Region | Production(tons) | Y-o-y change (%) |
| 1 | Shandong Zhaojin Mining Co. Ltd. | 15.04 | 10.27 |
| 2 | China National Gold Group Corp | 13.11 | 49.59 |
| 3 | Shandong Hengbang Smelting Co. Ltd. | 8.73 | 15.98 |
| 4 | Henan Lingbao Gold Co. Ltd. | 7.06 | 9.51 |
| 5 | Zhongkuang Gold Industry Co. Ltd. | 3.96 | -1.67 |
Source: China Gold Association
Based on current gold prices, China's entire gold industry achieved a total production value of RMB 119.54 billion ($18.55 billion) for the first half of the year, expanding 23.37 percent on the same period last year. Profits, meanwhile, grew 34.19 percent on an annual basis to reach RMB 13.76 billion ($2.13 billion).
The Shanghai Gold Exchange, China's sole spot trading platform for precious metals, reported a gold trading volume of 2.91 million kilograms in H1, down 8.36 percent year-on-year, and a trading turnover of RMB 889.11 billion ($137.95 billion), up 10.23 percent.
Gold trading on the Shanghai Futures Exchange reached a total volume of 281,588 kilograms in December, while trading turnover stood at RMB 89.58 billion ($13.90 billion).
-KHM