Dec. 17, 2009 (China Knowledge) - China's gold output increased by 31.47 tons or 14.10% year on year to 254.55 tons in the first ten months of this year, according to the latest statistics released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

In October alone, China produced 26.35 tons of gold, said the MIIT.

In the period from January to October, gold mines in the country produced 211.60 tons of gold, up 14.70% year on year, while by-product gold from non-ferrous smelters grew11.25% to 42.96 tons, said the ministry.

In the same period, China's top five gold producers, including China National Gold Group Corp and Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd<601899><2899>, saw output rise 10.93% from a year earlier to 100.61 tonnes, accounting for 39.53% of the country's total.

The gross industrial output value of the gold industry climbed 7.40% year on year to RMB 107.9 billion in the period, while the sector's profit dropped 0.49% to RMB 10.69 billion.