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Detention won’t hurt business, Sino

The chief executive of Sino Gold Mining does not believe the detention of an Australian Rio Tinto executive in China will damage business or trade ties between the two countries.

“I do not believe it is going to have a long-term impact on the relationship between Australia and China,” Jake Klein told journalists in a teleconference yesterday.

Sino Gold is a Sydney based exploration and mining company whose activities are focussed in China.

The company currently operates two gold mines in China, including its flagship Jinfeng mine, and in April this year approved the development of a third.

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith this week warned that China could damage it’s standing in the international business world, especially with Australia, with the continued detention of Rio iron ore executive Stern Hu on suspicion of espionage.

Hu’s detention has done nothing to damage Sino’s relationship with the Chinese, Klein said.

“I can certainly say, restricting my comments to Sino Gold, that it has had no impact on our business,” he said.

Klein’s comments came on the same day that Sino released its second quarter production report, revealing that the company increased gold production by 51% in the period.

According to the report, Sino produced a record 53,367 ounces of gold in the quarter ended June 30, up from 35,412 ounces in the same period last year.

The company also reduced its production costs for the quarter to US$391 per ounce.

Sino said it was on track to deliver full year production at the upper end of its 2009 guidance of 210,000 to 230,000 ounces of gold, while maintaining a cash operating cost of less than US$400 per ounce.

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