Guizhou, a land-locked province in southwest China, is expected to produce more than 20 tons of gold annually by 2010.

More investment in gold reserve prospecting, the construction of more gold mines and the use of more efficient technologies in gold production combine to make this target quite likely, said Kou Shengtian, chairman of Guizhou Provincial Gold Association.

Guizhou abounds in gold resources, most of which are concentrated in the southern parts of the province. Gold prospecting and production in the province dates back as early as the Sui Dynasty (581-618).

The province saw a rise of 130 percent in the amount of newly found gold reserves in the 10th five-year-plan period (2000-2005) from the ninth five-year-plan period, said Kou.

More than 120 million yuan (about 5 million U.S. dollars) was spent on risk prospecting of gold resources in the past five years.

By late 2005, the province's verified gold reserves had risen to 250 tons. Experts estimate the gold resource potential in the province to be as high as 1,000 tons.

The gold mining enterprises in the province churned out 4,977.6 kg of gold and registered pre-tax profits of 240 million yuan last year. It is expected that 64.5 tons of gold will be produced in the province during the 11th five-year-plan period (2006-2010).

Currently, China's leading gold production bases include Shandong Province, east China, and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China.

Source: Xinhua