Mongolia – sixth largest gold producer in Asia

Economy | Mining
en_amarsaikhan@montsame.mn
2016-11-21 16:32:21

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Mongolia has come to be the sixth largest gold producer in the continent, preceded by the top producer China, and Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Phillipines. Mongolia produced 31.3 tons in 2015.

China became the top producer of gold in the world in 2012. Its gold production increased from 397 tons in 2013 to 409 tons in 2014.

According to the survey by GFMS of Thomson Reuters, China produced 485.1 metric tons of gold last year, which represented an increase of 14 percent against the previous year.

Indonesia ranked at second place, having produced 134.3 tons of gold. The country is home to one of the biggest gold mines of the world – Grasberg, which makes majority of gold production.

At the third place comes Central Asian country, Uzbekistan. The country in 2015 produced 83.2 metric tons of the gold. Gold production plays an important role in Uzbekistan economy. In Uzbekistan gold is mostly found in the Kyzylkum Desert where Muruntau Gold Deposit, the largest single open-pit gold mine, is located.

Kazakhstan with 47.5 metric tons of production and Philippines with 46.8 metric tons at fourth and fifth places respectively, according to the survey.

Despite India being the world’s biggest buyer of gold, its contribution to world gold production is an insignificant 0.5 per cent.

The survey says global mine production increased by just 1 per cent in 2015, reaching 3,158 tones, with gains in countries like Indonesia and the United States overweighing the losses elsewhere, particularly in China.

This represents seventh successive year of increasing mine supply, and is another year of record global output.