So far, 52 Chinese enterprises have rushed to dig gold in southwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China Business Times reported. The regional gold output is expected to surpass nine tons this year, up 14.3 percent from last year.

The gold mining industry has stood out from the other mining industries in Xinjiang, because it was only affected minimally by last year’s global financial crisis.

China's Xinjiang is known as a hot spot for gold mining, and has attracted China National Gold Groups, Zhaojin Mining Industry Co., Ltd., Zijin Mining Group, Lingbao Gold Co., Ltd. and 48 other enterprises since 2006. They have invested 800 million yuan in 12 key projects and 160 million yuan in geological prospecting. The total gold reserve discovered has amounted to 88.6 tons, said Wang Xiaoning, vice director of the regional economic and information technology commission, during a conference on gold mining in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Xinjiang has five major gold production bases in Tacheng, Altay, Ili, Turpan and Hami. There are two gold processing centers in Xinjiang region: Tacheng and Urumqi. Currently, seven enterprises are capable of processing more than 400 tons of gold every day. Of them, three are able to process more than 1,000 tons of gold per day. In 2008, the gold output of the seven enterprises reached 4.624 tons, accounting for 56.31 percent of the total regional output. Large enterprises have become the leading force in Xinjiang gold production industry.

The Gold Administrative Bureau of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region said the region hit a historical high in gold output in 2008, totaling 8.212 tons, up 15.35 percent from 2007. The production of gold has kept gaining momentum in the past five year. In 2009, the region is expected to produce nine tons of gold and discover 20 tons of gold reserves. According to China Gold Association, Xinjiang's gold output is ranked 8th in China, accounting for 3.52 percent of the national total.

(China.org.cn by Chen Xia, June 19, 2009)