18 Aug 2012

China in talks with African gold miner

9:05 am on 18 August 2012

China National Gold has held preliminary talks over buying a stake in African Barrick Gold, one of the largest gold miners in Africa.

Barrick Gold, the parent of ABG, said the talks were at an "early stage".

African Barrack has large reserves and last year produced almost 688,000 ounces of gold. However, the BBC reports that was down from 701,000 ounces in 2010 and 716,000 ounces the year before.

At the same time, its production costs have risen.

The company has also been hurt by power cuts and fuel thefts. As a result, its shares have fallen almost 30% in the past year.