MONROVIA, November 7 (LINA) – The Government has recorded an increase in gold and diamond production, while iron ore output has declined, according to the   Bank's  quarterly Financial and Economic Bulletin, recently released.

According to the report, gold production rose from 4,059 to 6,637 ounces at the end of June, accounting for 63.5 percent or 2,578 ounces of the preceding quarter.

The surge in gold production was largely due to increase in the global price of the commodity which shows that its output expanded by 56.7 percent from 4,235 ounces.

Meanwhile, diamond output at the end of June 2014 rose from 17,623 carats to 19,555 carats recorded during the preceding quarter, an increase which was largely attributed to increased alluvial mining activities from new fields, the Central Bank of Liberia report discloses.

However, according to the report, there was a slight decline in the production of iron ore during the period under review by 5.7 percent from 1, 440,340 metric tons to 1,357,825 metric tons.

The report attributed the fall in iron ore output to the decline in the global market price of the commodity.

By Prince Nagbe/LINA