JINAN, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Shandong Province in east China has discovered 2,957.62 tonnes of proven gold reserves over the past decade, securing its status as the largest gold production base in the country, according to the provincial department of natural resources.
From 2011 to the end of this year, four super-large gold deposits each with reserves of more than 100 tonnes were discovered, along with eight large gold deposits and 121 small and medium-sized gold deposits, said Yu Xiangdong, director of the department.
The newly discovered reserves have exceeded the total amount of gold resources found between 1949 and 2010 in Shangdong, he said.
The Jiaodong peninsula in Shandong, where the gold mines are located, has become the world's third-largest gold mining area, he said.
Yu said that over the past 10 years, the provincial government has invested more than 8.1 billion yuan (about 1.2 billion U.S. dollars) in geological exploration, and has achieved remarkable results in the exploration of important minerals, prospecting for old mines, and basic geological survey. Enditem
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