China Silk Road provides alternative growth platform: Official

China's Silk Road initiative, which aims to link Central, West and South Asian nations, will provide an alternative platform for growth as countries along the route account for nearly half of the global gold reserves, a top industry official said today.
China's initiative will benefit gold miners as prices of gold are likely to remain low in the coming years, said Song Xin, general manager of state-owned China National Gold Group Corporation.
Addressing a mining industry conference in north China's Tianjin city, Song said the next few years will see global gold prices remain low while costs for mining will rise.

But the Silk Road initiative -- officially termed 'Belt and Road' -- will provide an alternative platform for growth, as countries along the route have a combined natural gold reserve of 21,000 tons, accounting for 42 per cent of the global gold reserve, Song said.
The world's six largest gold mines are located in countries along the 'Belt and Road.'
Chinese gold miners have an edge in exploitation, which is complementary with the 'Belt and Road' countries that are rich in gold reserves, he said.

"This is a new historic opportunity for Chinese gold industry," state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Song as saying.

China has world's fifth-largest gold reserves, behind the United States, Germany, Italy and France.
The 'Belt and Road' initiative refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, which were proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 with an aim of reviving the ancient trade routes.
The network passes through more than 60 countries and regions with a total population of 4.4 billion.
The initiative seeks to create an economic belt of railways, highways, oil-and-gas pipelines, power grids and other links across Central, West and South Asian nations.