China's gold output up 4.4 pct in the first three months of the year
Shanghai. May 5. INTERFAX-CHINA - China produced 70.16 tons of gold bullion in the first three months of 2010, up 4.4 percent year-on-year, the China Gold Association (CGA) announced on April 30.
China's gold mining companies produced a total of 57.3 tons of gold bullion and compound gold over the same period, up 6.03 percent year-on-year. Gold bullion produced by smelting companies, which include nonferrous metals smelters and gold refineries, using compound gold, scrap gold and imported ore as feedstock, grew by 3.33 percent year-on-year to 35.99 tons.
The table below shows China's top gold mining regions for the first three months of 2010.
Top gold mining regions, January to March 2010
| Rank | Location | Production, Jan - Mar (tons) | Y-o-y change (%) |
| 1 | Shandong | 12.13 | 8.19 |
| 2 | Fujian | 6.11 | 19.53 |
| 3 | Henan | 5.87 | -13.94 |
| 4 | Hunan | 2.44 | 8.81 |
| 5 | Shanxi | 2.41 | 20.78 |
| 6 | Inner Mongolia | 2.16 | -17.46 |
| 7 | Yunnan | 2.01 | 0.38 |
| 8 | Guizhou | 1.75 | 2.94 |
| 9 | Gansu | 1.61 | 2.55 |
| 10 | Jilin | 1.56 | -20.72 |
Source: CGA
Nonferrous metals smelters produced 15.39 tons of gold bullion over the period, up 11.15 percent year-on-year. The top five nonferrous metals smelters produced 79.6 percent of the sector's total gold bullion.
The table below shows China's top five nonferrous metals smelters by gold bullion production for the first three months of 2010.
Top five nonferrous metals smelters by gold bullion production, January to March 2010
| Rank | Company | Production, Jan - Mar (tons) | Y-o-y change (%) |
| 1 | Jiangxi Copper Group | 5.29 | 19.05 |
| 2 | Yunnan Copper Group | 2.19 | 87.4 |
| 3 | Anhui Tongling Nonferrous Metals Co. Ltd. | 2.18 | -4.81 |
| 4 | Hangzhou Fuchunjiang Smelting Co. Ltd. | 1.41 | 92.99 |
| 5 | Hubei Daye Nonferrous Metals Co. Ltd. | 1.18 | -35.21 |
Source: CGA
Gold refining companies produced 20.6 tons of gold bullion in the three-month period, down 1.82 percent from the previous year. The top five gold refining companies accounted for 87.14 percent of the total gold bullion produced by domestic gold refining companies.
The below table shows China's top five gold refining companies by gold bullion production for the first three months of 2010.
Top five gold refining companies by gold bullion production, January to March 2010
| Rank | Company | Production, Jan - Mar (tons) | Y-o-y change (%) |
| 1 | Shandong Zhaojin Mining Co. Ltd. | 6.29 | -8.26 |
| 2 | China National Gold Group Corp. | 4.16 | 9.5 |
| 3 | Henan Lingbao Gold Co. Ltd. | 3.09 | -13.14 |
| 4 | Shandong Hengbang Smelting Co. Ltd. | 2.56 | 20.68 |
| 5 | Zhongkuang Gold Industry Co. Ltd. | 1.85 | -30.1 |
Source: CGA
Based on current gold prices, China's gold producers achieved a total output value of RMB 37.8 billion ($5.54 billion) in the first three months of 2010, up 32.97 percent from the same period last year, while combined profits increased by 59.42 percent year-on-year to RMB 4.03 billion ($590.33 million).
The Shanghai Gold Exchange, China's sole precious metals spot trading platform, reported a gold trading volume of 1,436,461.4 kilograms from January to March, up 35.88 percent year-on-year.The gold trading volume on the Shanghai Futures Exchange reached 493,992 kg in March, while trading turnover stood at RMB 122.18 billion ($17.9 billion).-XH