China's Gold Production Gets Ahead

The profit of China?s gold enterprises reached US$66 million in the first quarter, a year-on-year rise of 48 percent, according to China Gold Association.
The country's gold enterprises record an industrial output of nearly 6 billion yuan, up 42.8 percent than 2002, according to a report released by the Beijing-based association on its Website.
Shandong, Fujian and Henan Provinces are the three major profit contributors, accounting for 81.41 percent of the country's gold firms' total profit.
The country's gold miners produced 34.42 tons of the precious metal in the three-month period ending March 31 - 4.7 percent higher than the year-ago level.
Shandong, Henan Provinces and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region stood out as the three major gold mining provinces, contributing to over half of the country's total gold miners' production.
"China's gold production cost is higher than the international level," said Zhao Dehua, vice chairman of Shanghai Golden Ornaments Trade Association. "The rising gold prices, pushed up by the global political uncertainty, may be another reason that help gold firms to enjoy profit growth."