India proposes gold import ban

Predictions of strong growth in India’s domestic jewellery market have been made by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, which estimates that jewellery sales will reach $20 billion by 2010 and $30 billion in 2015.

The country is continuing to experience a rapid expansion of its middle class together with rising incomes levels.

Twenty per cent of world gold production is consumed by India; the figure currently stands at 800 tonnes, of which 600 tonnes are used in jewellery manufacture.

However, the Union Minister of State for Mines, has put forward plans to halt India’s importation of both gold and diamonds within the next 10 years.

The minister estimates that India holds around 9% of the world’s total gold reserves and the import ban would be aimed at focusing activity on the development of the country’s gold mining industry.

Further news on gold mining comes from BHP Billiton, which is expected to announce this week that it has uncovered what are potentially the world’s largest gold resources, located at an existing copper, gold and uranium mine at BHP’s Olympic Dam site in South Australia.

The group has been operating up to 20 drilling rigs at the mine and plans to spend over $6 billion expanding the site, which is already known to contain the world’s largest uranium resource and some of the world’s largest copper and silver deposits.