BEIJING (Reuters) - China has found gold reserves worth 600 billion yuan ($82.9 billion) in central Hunan province, state outlet Xinhua news said on Thursday.

China is the world's largest gold producer, accounting for around 10% of global output in 2023, data from the World Gold Council showed.

It consumed 741.732 metric tons of gold in the first three quarters of this year while output was 268.068 tons, meaning it has to rely on imports to meet domestic demand.

Hunan Academy of Geology found more than 40 gold ore veins at a depth of more than 2,000 meters in Pingjiang county, with a total of 300.2 tons of gold resources discovered in the core exploration area and a highest grade of 138 grams per metric ton, Xinhua said.

The group forecast that there were more than 1,000 tons of gold reserves at a depth of over 3,000 meters, according to Xinhua.

Gold reserves generally refer to the economically extractable part of a resource.

Gold prices have rallied this year on the back of rising geopolitical tensions globally. The most active gold futures contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange touched an all-time high of 639.48 yuan per gram on Oct. 30.

It closed Thursday's daytime trading 1.16% higher at 617.7 yuan a gram, a rise of 27.8% since the beginning of the year.