Top ten gold producing countries in the 1st half of 2014

Analysts at the London-based precious metals group Metal Focus have released a research report that outlines key aspects of global gold production during the first half of 2014. Gold mining and processing is one of the most profitable ideas for business . The report says that global gold production continues to increase despite falling demand for the yellow metal.

China continues to top the list as the world's leading gold producer, followed by Australia and the Russian Federation at second and third, respectively, according to the report. These three countries produce more gold than all the remaining countries from the top ten of the world rankings combined.

In the first half of 2014, China produced 213.4 tons of gold, which is 7.89 percent more than the 197.8 tons mined in the corresponding period last year. Australia increased gold production by 7.63 percent to 136.9 tonnes, up from 127.2 tonnes in the corresponding period in 2013. Gold production in the Russian Federation increased by 15.85 percent during the first half of 2014 to 104.5 tons compared to 90.2 tons last year.

In fourth place is the United States, whose gold output fell 8.39 percent to 102.6 tons in the first half of 2014. The output of the 6 remaining global gold producers in the first half of 2014 was in tonnes: South Africa 86.8 (-2.03 percent), Peru 77.4 (-16.23 percent), Canada 71.5 (+28.37 percent) ), Mexico 52.6 (+1.94 percent), Ghana 52.6 (+9.81 percent), Indonesia 42.0 (0.92 percent).