China pushes SA out of gold top spot

China was the world's biggest producer of gold in 2007, new research has revealed.

Findings from the Gold Survey 2007 by GFMS show that the Asian country overtook South Africa to claim the top spot last year.

Speaking at the launch of the findings in Toronto yesterday, GFMS executive chairman Philip Klapwijk noted that China managed to topple South Africa's supremacy - which it had held since 1905 - through "continued growth".

However, global gold production fell by just over one per last year to a total of 2,444 tonnes, with Peru and South Africa seeing the biggest drops in production. The US and Canada also saw falls in gold output.

The report came as AngloGold Ashanti, one of the world's biggest gold producers, released results showing that its gold production fell by 55,000 ounces between the third and fourth quarters of 2007.