Prompted by global concerns pulling down valuations, Zijin Mining Group Co. of China has allotted some Yu10 billion (US$1.6 billion) to acquire deals targeting gold, copper and other metals that are in short supply in China.

Analysts see mergers and acquisitions in the gold mining industry gathering speed in the coming months. Data from Bloomberg's World Mining Index showed the index has fallen about 16 per cent as the debt crisis in the eurozone continues to stall global fiscal recovery.

"The prices of mining assets have returned to reasonable levels," Chen Jinghe, chairman of Zijin Mining Group Co., said at a conference in Tianjin.

"The 2008 crisis passed away very quickly as governments imposed stimulus plans to save the market," Chen added. "Now, the bullets have been used up.''

In September, Zijin Mining Group Co. spent US$95 million to acquire 17 per cent of Australian copper and gold miner Norton Gold Fields as well as a 60 per cent stake in Altynken Limited Liability Co. The latter is a Kazakhstan-based company with access to a gold mine in Kyrgyzstan.

Last year, Zijin Mining Group Co. figured in bad publicity after spilling acid-laced waste into a river and reservoir in Fujian province. Xinhua news agency, citing Chinese environmental authorities, said the leak from the Zijinshan Copper Mine killed or poisoned about 1.89 million kg of fish.

China's biggest gold producer by market value, Zijin Mining Group Co. dropped 26 per cent this year, leaving behind the 15 per cent drop on the benchmark Hang Seng Index.

Gold has climbed 25 per cent this year, heading for an 11th consecutive annual advance.