Griffin Mining doubles profits

China-focused gold and zinc miner Griffin Mining more than doubled pre-tax profits in the half year to 30 June as it benefited from higher gold prices and reduced operating costs.Pre-tax profits rose to $17.9m from $8.7m over the same period the previous year on revenues that climbed to £33.9m from $27m. Operating costs fell to $5.5m from $5.8m."The half yearly results provide clear evidence of the progress which has been made at Caijiaying and the resulting benefits to Griffin and its shareholders," said chairman Mladen Ninkov. "The potential of Caijiaying has only just begun to be tapped with the recently upgraded processing, increased throughput and stabilized metal prices."The Caijiaying mine is about 250km northwest of Beijing, in China's Hebei Province. Griffin Mining