China announced on Friday that it has discovered its largest individual gold deposit since 1949.
The Dadonggou gold mine in the northeastern province of Liaoning contains 1.444.49 tons of proven gold reserves, according to data from the Ministry of Natural Resources.
Chinese state media reported that the mine has already passed an economic feasibility assessment, paving the way for development.
The deposit is classified as a super-large open-pit mine. Officials said that the area above an elevation of 720 meters contains an estimated 2.586 billion tons of ore with an average gold content of 0.56 grams per ton.
The mine was identified after an unusually fast, 15-month exploration process, which is said could become a model for “short-cycle, high-quality” mineral exploration in the future, the report said.
