At a Moscow meeting chaired by President Putin, the development of African gold mines and assistance for production were placed on the agenda, indicating that China and Russia intend to support the expansion of local gold production. Gold production in Africa has been increasing year by year and now exceeds 1,000 tonnes annually.
Russia and China positioned the development of gold mines and production assistance as long-term areas of cooperation at meetings with African countries. Russia has been pursuing the acquisition of gold, particularly in Central Africa, as part of its national strategy, and cases of gold being moved through the Wagner network have been reported.
Overall African gold production has been expanding toward 900–1,000 tonnes a year, with Central African countries outside Southern Africa emerging as the main producers. Some have pointed out that China and Russia aim to strengthen their domestic gold holdings by supporting this expansion in production.
Gold prices remain volatile in the current market environment, with shortages of physical gold inventories and movements in the dollar among the factors affecting the market. It has been suggested that competition to acquire resources through development assistance could also affect the long-term supply structure of the gold market.