By David Lew
Gold price is surging. But what about gold production? Which countries are stepping up gold production? One reason for the soaring yellow metal prices is shortage of gold supply thanks to rising mining costs.

But despite the rising costs, countries are vying with each other to step up gold production. Three countries that are doing well in gold production are China, Australia and Russia.

On Sunday, the China Gold Association said that China will achieve record production in gold in 2009. It said China’s gold production for the current year will jump by over 10 per cent to touch 310 metric tones, compared with the 282 tonnes that the country production last year. China is currently the largest gold producer in the world.

Australia has emerged as the second largest gold producer this year.

A survey of local industry output in the September quarter by Surbiton Associates, released yesterday, found that production was near steady for the period at 56 tonnes (1.8 million ounces). That continued the run rate that saw production in the June half weigh in at 112 tonnes of gold.

Surbiton director Sandra Close said the past few years had seen a shift in the rankings of the world's biggest gold-producing countries. South Africa dominated global rankings for close to a century but has now slipped to fourth position.

''In 2005, Australia was the world's second-largest gold producer behind South Africa but it was overtaken by the US in 2006 and by China in 2007, putting it back to fourth place,'' Dr Close said.

''But with the continued decline in South African output and lower production in the US in the first half of 2009, Australia has regained the No. 2 spot.''

What about Russia gold production?

RUSSIAN gold production rose 12.2 per cent year-on-year in the first 10 months of 2009, mainly due to the launch of large projects in its far east, the Russian Gold Industrialists' Union said on Friday.

The union, which is the main industry lobby, said in a statement gold output by the world's No. 5 miner of the precious metal totalled 171.2 tonnes in January-October compared with 152.5 tonnes in the same period a year ago.

October gold output from mines and placers declined by nearly 4.17 tonnes from the same month a year ago, but a rise of volumes refined as a by-product of other metals cut the total decline to 1.87 tonnes.