The country imported 209.7 tonnes of gold in the first 10 months of the year, up 480 percent from the same period last year, the China Business News said, citing Shen Xiangrong, chairman of the Shanghai Gold Exchange.

Shen said trading by individual Chinese investors grew "rapidly and robustly" this year on "high enthusiasm", according to the report.

Trade in gold by individual traders reached 973.8 tonnes in the period, up 247.3 percent from a year ago and accounting for nearly 20 percent of total transactions, the report said.

The report came as inflation spiralled this year in China, where a traditional fondness for the precious metal as a hedge against social and economic risks remains deep.

The consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, hit a two-year high of 4.4 percent in October, largely due to soaring food costs and above the government's official full-year target of 3.0 percent.

China's consumption of gold hit 454 tonnes last year, overtaking India to become the world's largest, according to the report.

The country surpassed South Africa in 2007 to become the world's biggest miner of gold, with production last year standing at 314 tonnes, it added.

The Asian nation's surging demand for bullion has helped fuel rises in international gold prices, which hit an all-time high of 1,424 dollars an ounce in London last month.

Gold opened Friday at 1,391.00-1,392.00 dollars an ounce in Hong Kong.

earlier related report
Chinalco, Rio Tinto sign deal to explore resources in China
Beijing (AFP) Dec 3, 2010 - Rio Tinto and Chinalco, China's largest alumina producer, on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding to set up a joint venture to explore resources in China, the Anglo-Australian mining giant said.

The venture, in which Chinalco will hold a 51 percent stake while Rio will take the remaining 49 percent, will "explore mainland China for world-class mineral deposits", Rio said in a statement.

"The combination of skills provided by Rio Tinto and Chinalco offers great potential to unlock value for mutual benefit," the statement quoted Rio chief executive Tom Albanese as saying at a signing ceremony in Beijing.

The joint venture, expected to come into operations in the first half of 2011, will start with three to five large exploration projects and potentially move to additional regions later on.

Rio will appoint the chief executive of the new venture, with the chairman of the five-member board nominated by Chinalco, according to the statement.

Chinalco is seeking to diversify from aluminium into other sectors such as coal, iron ore, rare earths and copper to become a global mining firm.

Chinalco's listed unit Chalco and Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto in July signed a binding agreement to jointly develop a huge African iron ore field, with the Chinese company to invest 1.35 billion dollars in the project.

The deal is also the latest sign of a recovery in Rio's relations with China, its biggest customer, after four of its staff were jailed in Shanghai for bribery and stealing commercial secrets earlier this year.

The case, which followed Rio's decision to scrap a tie-up last year with Chinalco, its shareholder, rattled relations between Beijing and Canberra and stoked concerns among foreign investors about the rule of law in China.

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