This article has just sailed through the radar with very little attention paid to it.


March 20 (Bloomberg) -- China's gold industry, the world's largest by output, will seek to boost its bullion stockpiles by 800 metric tons and increase production to 290 tons this year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said.
The government aims to encourage industry mergers so the top 10 gold producers account for more than half the nation's output, according to a statement on the ministry's Web site, citing Deputy Minister Miao Yu. The statement did not elaborate on how the industry would increase its inventories.
China's gold output was 282 tons last year, the statement said. The country has the world's biggest foreign-exchange reserves at $1.95 trillion, with about 600 tons of gold, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Gold demand in China, the second-largest consumer, may stay at a similar level this year to last, at around 360 tons as industrial usage drops on the economic slowdown, the China Gold Association said in December.