September 27, 2007 -- The Armed Gold Force, on Sept. 22, held a meeting in Chengdu to reward the companies and individuals involved in surveying the recently found gold mine in Yangshan mine district, reported Sichuan Daily. In all 1.3 million yuan (US$ 173,000) were awarded in prizes. Three companies and two individuals were awarded second class merit, and three individuals were awarded third class merit. Assistant Commander of the Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Liang Hong, and Assistant Secretary and Governor of Gansu Province, Xu Shousheng, attended the meeting.

Recently, the 12th branch of the Armed Gold Force found a large gold-bearing rock mineral deposit with a potential economic value of 50 billion yuan (US$6.6 billion) during exploration at the borders of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu Provinces.

According to geological experts, this mineral deposit contains around 308 ton gold, the largest "Carlin style" gold mine in Asia, and the 6th largest in the world. The finding is significant in China's independent gold mining history, since the country does not have any mines with over 200 tons of deposits. The mine is expected to yield an annual output of 1.4 billion yuan (US$186 million).