China Gold Association: In the first half of 2025, China's gold production is 179.083 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 0.31%

According to the latest statistics from the China Gold Association, in the first half of 2025, domestic raw gold production was 179.083 tons, a decrease of 0.551 tons compared to the first half of 2024, representing a year-on-year decline of 0.31%, which is basically flat compared to last year. Among them, gold mine production reached 139.413 tons, and non-ferrous by-product gold reached 39.670 tons. Additionally, in the first half of 2025, imported raw gold production was 76.678 tons, a year-on-year increase of 2.29%. If this imported raw gold is included, the total national gold production was 252.761 tons, a year-on-year increase of 0.44%, remaining flat compared to last year. In the first half of 2025, large gold groups in China achieved gold production from overseas mines of 39.608 tons, a year-on-year increase of 16.17%.

Original text as follows:

In the first half of 2025, China's gold production was 179.083 tons, a year-on-year decline of 0.31%, and gold consumption was 505.205 tons, a year-on-year decline of 3.54%.

According to the latest statistics from the China Gold Association, in the first half of 2025, domestic raw gold production was 179.083 tons, a decrease of 0.551 tons compared to the first half of 2024, representing a year-on-year decline of 0.31%, which is basically flat compared to last year. Among them, gold mine production reached 139.413 tons, and non-ferrous by-product gold reached 39.670 tons. Additionally, in the first half of 2025, imported raw gold production was 76.678 tons, a year-on-year increase of 2.29%. If this imported raw gold is included, the total national gold production was 252.761 tons, a year-on-year increase of 0.44%, remaining flat compared to last year.

In the first half of 2025, the policy orientation towards high-quality development and high gold prices brought historical opportunities to gold enterprises, increasing profit margins for gold production companies. Some companies chose to lower the selected grade to maximize the utilization of gold mine resources, but gold production did not significantly increase. Large gold enterprises are committed to medium- and long-term high-quality development, increasing investment in infrastructure and technological transformation of large mining projects, leading to adjustments in their short-term production plans and a temporary decline in mineral gold production. Gold smelting enterprises experienced a reduction in incoming materials, resulting in a decline in smelted gold production.

Key gold mining projects such as the Shandong Haiyu and Shaling are advancing rapidly. The production line of the Zhaojin Haiyu gold mine successfully completed water-linked trial operations, overcoming technical challenges such as corrosion resistance in high-corrosion underwater environments. This project has achieved industrial production capacity and is expected to fully enter the trial operation phase by the end of 2025. The main shaft hoist, headframe, ventilation and drainage systems, and substation capacity expansion projects of the Zhongjin Shaling gold mine have all been completed, with overall progress of surface engineering exceeding half, and the installation of beneficiation equipment entering the final stages, expected to be ready for trial operations by the end of 2025.

Key gold enterprises are actively promoting the "going out" development strategy, achieving significant results. In the first half of 2025, large gold groups in China achieved gold production from overseas mines of 39.608 tons, a year-on-year increase of 16.17%.

In the first half of 2025, China's gold consumption was 505.205 tons, a year-on-year decline of 3.54%. Among them: gold jewelry was 199.826 tons, a year-on-year decline of 26.00%; gold bars and coins were 264.242 tons, a year-on-year increase of 23.69%; industrial and other gold usage was 41.137 tons, a year-on-year increase of 2.59% High gold prices suppress gold jewelry consumption, while lightweight, highly designed, and high-value-added jewelry products remain favored, resulting in better profitability for merchants. The demand for gold bars in jewelry stores remains strong, but profits are lower. The escalation of geopolitical conflicts and economic uncertainty further highlights gold's function as a safe-haven asset, leading to a significant increase in demand for gold bars and coins among the public. The demand for industrial gold has shown a slight upward trend due to the recovery in gold salt demand.

In the first half of 2025, the Shanghai Gold Exchange recorded a cumulative trading volume of 16,786.870 tons (33,573.740 tons on a bilateral basis) for all gold varieties, an increase of 12.70% year-on-year. The cumulative trading value reached CNY 12.1180 trillion (CNY 24.2360 trillion on a bilateral basis), up 56.46% year-on-year. The cumulative trading value of gold varieties accounted for 97.58% of the total trading value of all commodities on the Shanghai Gold Exchange, up from 96.27% in the same period last year.

In the first half of 2025, the Shanghai Futures Exchange recorded a cumulative trading volume of 75,477.958 tons (150,955.916 tons on a bilateral basis) for all gold futures and options, an increase of 88.39% year-on-year. The cumulative trading value reached CNY 44.4429 trillion (CNY 88.8859 trillion on a bilateral basis), up 149.17% year-on-year. The cumulative trading value of gold futures and options accounted for 33.54% of the total trading value of all commodity futures and options on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, up from 16.56% in the same period last year.

In the first half of 2025, the domestic gold ETF saw an increase of 84.771 tons, up 173.73% year-on-year compared to the increase of 30.696 tons in the first half of 2024. By the end of June, the domestic gold ETF holdings reached 199.505 tons.

The Shanghai Gold Exchange has made significant progress in its vaults in Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong. On May 8, 2025, the Shanghai Gold Exchange's Saudi delivery vault was officially put into use, achieving "two-way free exchange" between the renminbi and gold, facilitating Middle Eastern investors to participate directly in Shanghai gold trading through the Saudi vault. On June 26, 2025, the Shanghai Gold Exchange officially launched the designated warehouse for its international board established in Hong Kong and introduced gold trading contracts for delivery in Hong Kong, with multiple domestic and foreign institutions successfully completing transactions on the first day.

In the first half of 2025, global regional conflicts continued to escalate, boosting safe-haven sentiment for gold, leading to a significant rise in international gold prices. By the end of June, the London spot gold fixing price was USD 3,287.45 per ounce, up 24.31% from the beginning of the year, with an average price of USD 3,066.59 per ounce for the first half of the year, up 39.21% year-on-year. By the end of June, the closing price of Au9999 gold on the Shanghai Gold Exchange was CNY 764.43 per gram, up 24.50% from the beginning of the year, with a weighted average price of CNY 725.28 per gram for the first half of the year, up 41.07% year-on-year.

In the first half of 2025, China increased its gold reserves by 18.97 tons, bringing the total gold reserves to 2,298.55 tons by the end of June.

This article is compiled from the "China Gold Association," edited by Jiang Yuanhua of Zhitong Finance