Gold industry hailed as major economic driver in Xinjiang prefecture

The gold industry in the Ili Kazak autonomous prefecture of China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has seen rapid growth in the last year, emerging as the prefecture's primary industrial driver, local officials said at a news conference in Urumqi on Wednesday.

Prefecture Governor Erxat Tursunbag reported that gold output reached 6.5 metric tons in 2025, marking a 107 percent year-on-year growth.

According to Li Dong, director of the prefecture's bureau of industry and information technology, approximately 6.7 million tons of gold ore were mined in 2025. The industrial output value from gold production and processing is estimated at 21.6 billion yuan ($3.08 billion), surging 276 percent on 2024. Revenue across the entire gold industry chain is projected to reach 43 billion yuan, growing by 83.6 percent.

"The gold sector has become the foremost engine of Ili's industrial growth," Li said.

He added that the industry's rapid growth follows a series of targeted measures. Gold reserves have risen by 102 tons to date, and seven new enterprises were attracted to Ili in 2025, bringing with them a total investment of 2.2 billion yuan.

This has accelerated the development of a fully integrated chain covering gold exploration, mining, ore smelting, processing and sales.