Underwater Gold Mine Holds 562 Tons of Reserves
Reports have emerged that the largest underwater gold mine in Asia has been discovered in waters near Shandong Province, China.
According to Sina Finance on December 18, the Press Office of the Yantai City People's Government in Shandong Province held a press conference on December 16 and announced that the largest underwater gold mine in Asia had been discovered in the northern waters of Sanshan Island, Laizhou City.
Based on the JORC (Joint Ore Reserves Committee) standards, the underwater gold mine is estimated to contain 562 tons of gold. The average gold content per ton of ore is reported to be 4.2 grams.
The cumulative gold reserves confirmed in the Laizhou City area exceed 3,900 tons, accounting for about 26% of China's total gold reserves. Sina Finance reported, "Both the gold reserves and production volume are the highest in the country."
More than 10 billion yuan (2.1007 trillion won) is expected to be invested in the development. Once completed, the facility will be capable of processing 12,000 tons of gold ore per day. The expected annual gold production is about 15 tons, and the project is projected to directly employ around 1,000 people.
Recently, there have been a series of reports about large gold mine discoveries in China. In March, the Liaoning Geological and Mineral Group discovered the Dadonggou gold mine in the Liaodong region, with potential resources estimated at 1,500 tons. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources of China, the Dadonggou gold mine has confirmed 2.586 billion tons of gold ore above an elevation of minus 720 meters, with an average grade (content) of 0.56 grams per ton.
In the same month, there were also reports that more than 1,000 tons of gold may be buried in the Wanggu gold mine in central Hunan Province. The economic value is estimated at about 600 billion yuan (126.09 trillion won).
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