China to Produce 173 Tons of Gold This YearChina will produce a record 173 tons of gold this year, Wang Dexue, director of the State Gold Administration, announced Monday, December 18.The country's gold industry expects to make 1.1 billion yuan (US$133 million) in total profits this year, a 22 percent increase from last year. Addressing a national gold conference here today, Wang said that China's gold industry has overcome the effect of sluggish gold prices and has scored a substantial increase in economic returns.. The industry produced 152.2 tons of gold in the first 11 months of this year, 4.9 tons more than in the same period in 1999. It made profits totaling 960 million yuan (US$115.67 million) during that period, up 15.6 percent. |
| People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/ |