China to remain world's largest gold producer

BEIJING: China, which produced 323 tonnes of gold during the first 10 months of this year, is likely to remain the world's largest gold producer for the sixth consecutive year in 2012, an industry association forecast today.

The China Gold Association's latest data showed that the country produced 323 tonnes of gold from January to October, up 11 per cent from the same period last year.

China surpassed South Africa to become the largest gold producer in 2007 and remained the biggest as of the end of last year, according to a report released today by the association.

China is currently the world's second-largest gold consumer after India.

In 2011, China's total gold consumption stood at 761.05 tonnes, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted the report as saying.