BEIJING, Feb 10 The China Geological Survey Bureau (CGS) has announced that in 2007, the countrys gold prospecting efforts made a series of significant results with five major gold mine discoveries.

The discovery of five mines included the copper-gold mine in Gandise of the Tibet Autonomous Region, the Dachang gold mine in Qinghai Province, the Yangshan gold mine in southern Gansu Province, the Sizhuang gold mine in Shandong Province and the Baolun gold mine in Hainan Province.

In addition, a number of gold deposits have also been found on   the peripheries of some lead and zinc mines.

The five mines boast a combined gold reserve of some 600 tons, and there is still great potential for further prospecting, the CGS said.

In 2007, China overtook the United States to become the worlds second largest gold producer with an output of 270.491 tons, second only to South Africa, which produced 272 tons of gold in 2007. Gold consumption by Chinas manufacturing sector was about 9.2 percent of the global         total, according to official data. (APP)