Companies

China's largest gold producer shuts mines for checks

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-08-10 16:32

Zijin Impact

Production at Zijin's Longkou Jinfeng unit, targeting output of 340 kilograms this year, would be affected, China's largest gold producer said. Jinfeng had produced 161 kilograms of gold in the first half, Zijin said. Work at Longkou Jintai, an exploration unit, was also halted, it said.

Shandong accounted for about 1 percent of Zijin's output last year, and the main issue for the company is still the toxic spill at its Zijinshan mine last month, Bocom's Luo said.

Zijin last month leaked toxic waste into the Ting River in Fujian province, poisoning almost 2,000 tons of fish, in the industry's worst spill in two years.

Related readings:  16 killed in gold mine fire in E.China  53 trapped in east China gold mine fire, over 200 escape  Zijin to cut output; earnings impact mild  China to further open gold market: PBOC

"China is at a period with rapid industrialization and urbanization, in which there's a large gap between production safety conditions and the requirement of safety development," Luo Lin, chief of the State Administration of Work Safety said in a commentary published on Aug 1, according to the government agency's website.

Sixteen miners were confirmed dead after a gas leak at the Sanyuandong coal mine in Dengfeng city, Henan province, Xinhua reported on Aug 5, citing the local government.

Other than Zijin's toxic leaks, oil was also spilled at Dalian port last month, forcing the closure of the nation's largest crude terminal. Accidents also occurred in Nanjing and Jilin, with 3,000 barrels of hazardous chemicals washed into a river and a gas pipeline explosion.