4 gold production processes were halted

On the 26th, the National Development and Reform Commission issued the “Guidance Catalogue for the Adjustment of Industrial Structures (2011 Edition)” (hereinafter referred to as the “Catalogue”) on its website, in which four gold-backward production process items were halted.

Compared with the “Guidance Catalogue for Industrial Structure Adjustment (2005)”, the new “Catalogue” also proposes to eliminate the “small cyanide pool leaching process and soil smelting process” in addition to the elimination of the amalgamation and extraction of gold. The importance of environmental protection of renewable resources, it is strictly prohibited "no environmental protection measures to extract gold, silver, palladium and other precious metals in circuit boards."

In addition, in order to strengthen the concentration of the gold mining industry, the “Catalogue” also halted the “Mining capacity of 50 tons or less.”

The Catalogue 2011 is divided into three categories: Encouragement, Restriction, and Elimination. There are 40 industries in the encouraged category, 17 industries in the restricted category, and 12 industries in the eliminated category. There are 1,399 items in the Catalogue 2011, of which 750 are encouraged, 223 are restricted, and 426 are eliminated.

The National Development and Reform Commission requested that the “Guidance Catalogue for Industrial Structure Adjustment (2011 Edition)” come into force on June 1, 2011, and the 2005 version be abolished.