The Na Neng gold mine in the northwest Guangxi Province was previously thought to have a proven reserve of 5 tons, an unnamed official with the country’s leading gold producer, manufacturer and trader told Xinhua. The country currently has 330 large-scale gold mines nationwide, with a daily output of 11,000 tons. The CNGGC announced earlier the Ministry of Finance had provided it with 47.75 million yuan ($6.96 million) from the 2008 central budget in a bid to help it prospect new mines.

This year, China surpassed the United States to become the world’s second largest gold producer behind South Africa. In 2007,its gold output reached 270.491 tons, up 12.67% year on year. To further boost the gold trade market and make gold resources more accessible to individual investors, Beijing Equity Exchange launched a gold trading center last weekend.