China National Gold Group Corp.(CNGGC), the country's biggest gold producer, announced its profits in the January-May period had jumped 56.97 percent year on year, according to Tuesday's Shanghai Securities News.

The Shanghai-listed company (SH.600489) attributed the profit increase to the mounting gold price, speeded-up resource development pace and rising gold output.

Gold output of the country's leading gold producer and trader rose 49.69 percent in the first five months year on year.

No detailed figures of the gold production and profits in the period from January to May were available, but it produced 70 tonnes of standard gold in 2007. Its profits stood at 620.5 million yuan (90.48 million U.S. dollars) last year.

The CNGGC said on Monday that it had found a new vein with an estimated 15 tonnes of gold at one of its mines in southwestern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The group had a total asset of 10.2 billion yuan and controls more than 30 percent of the country's gold reserves.

(Xinhua News Agency July 8, 2008)