China, the world's biggest gold miner, produced 246.51 tons of gold in the first 11 months of 2008, up 2.14 percent from a year earlier, official figures showed.

The country produced 23.42 tons of gold in November alone, sliding slightly from the previous month's 24 tons, according to figures released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on January 4.

Shandong Province, which accounts for 20.5 percent of the country's total gold output, is the largest gold producer in China, followed by Henan and Fujian provinces, accounting for 10.85 percent and 8 percent respectively of the nation's total.

(China Daily January 5, 2009)