PERTH(BullionStreet): As part of it's efforts to boost gold reserves, China acquired yet another gold asset in Australia.

China's Hanking Gold Mining said it had acquired St Barbara's Southern Cross mine in the WA goldfields for $22.5 million.

The acquisition follows the sale of several other WA mines to Chinese companies over the past six months.

St Barbara halted operations at the mine in the December quarter, which analysts believe was because the mine was running at a loss.

Analysts said it's all part of a plan within China to boost it's gold exposure either directly through purchasing metal on the market or by investing in gold mining companies.

Insufficient resources in China create demand for mining companies to expand overseas, and increasingly mature exploration technologies allow them to do so more easily.

Major Gold companies such as Shandong Gold, Zijing Mining and Zhaojin Mining are already in the fray for overseas takeovers, analysts said.

These gold companies are examples of Chinese mining firms accelerating overseas investment, thanks to good investment opportunities created by capital shortages that have hit mining industries worldwide during the global financial crisis.