What's happened
China's Geological Bureau announced a significant gold discovery at the Wangu goldfield in Hunan, estimating over 1,000 tonnes of gold reserves. This find could be worth approximately $83 billion, bolstering China's resource security amid rising global demand for gold.
Why it matters
What the papers say
According to The Independent, the Geological Bureau of Hunan reported that the Wangu goldfield could yield over 1,000 tonnes of gold, with visible gold found in drilled rock cores. The South China Morning Post highlighted the significance of this discovery for China's mineral exploration strategy, noting that the find is classified as a 'massive' reserve. Bloomberg added that feasibility studies are needed to confirm the actual reserves, emphasizing the importance of this discovery in the context of China's resource security.
How we got here
The discovery follows increased investment in mineral exploration in China, with over 100 million yuan allocated to the Wangu goldfield since 2020. This area has become crucial for China's gold production, which accounts for about 10% of global output.
More on these topics
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Hunan is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Guangdong
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Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and atomic number 79, making it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. In a pure form, it is a bright, slightly reddish yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, go
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China, officially the People's Republic of China, is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population of around 1.4 billion in 2019.