Gold diggers out in droves in Qld bush as the price is right
With the price of gold climbing above a record US$2000 an ounce, prospectors with metal detectors are flocking to north Queensland ā trying their luck in the Cloncurry hills.
Prospectors have flocked to north Queensland to comb the hills for gold after the precious metal reached unchartered territory last week.
For the first time in history, gold prices climbed above US $1900 an ounce in late July and have been on an upward trajectory ever since, this week breaking through the $US2000 barrier.
Third-generation Cloncurry explorer John Walton said the rising price was good news for the north-west Queensland town, which had experienced boom and bust over the years.
āThereās a lot of hardship and hard drilling that produces nothing,ā Walton said.
āBut itās good if you know that the price of gold is that high.ā
There is only one public fossicking area in the Cloncurry Shire, and Walton, who enjoyed having the hillside to himself until recently, said tourists had been flocking there since travel restrictions eased in Queensland in early July ā and they were asking for advice.
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āThey all wanted to know where the gold is and they donāt want little bits of gold ā they want the big bits of gold,ā he joked.
āYou tell them the best place to go is a place called wild goose creek ā so you send them off on a wild goose chase.ā
Metal detectors running out
The gold rush has also been noticed closer to the east coast and Frieda Berry-Porter from Outback Prospector in Clermont said prospectors were buying up metal detectors.
āWe have trouble some days supplying detectors for our interested customers,ā Berry-Porter said.
āThe huge demand is across not just Australia but other countries as well.ā
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Berry-Porter said although gold prices were playing a part in the renewed interest in prospecting, she also suspected people were looking to go outdoors after the recent lockdown.
āFor some physical and mental stress relief in responding to the coronavirus, I think itās good therapy for a lot of people,ā she said.
āWeāve seen a lot of new faces and people who have really never had an interest or tried the activities before.ā
Exploration companies revive old mines
The record gold prices have also been a boost to exploration companies looking to start larger-scale mines in the area, like the Tick Hill mine that has been dormant for more than two decades.
Carnaby Resources managing director Rob Watkins said the companyās plans to reopen Tick Hill were progressing a lot better because of the current market.
āIn normal gold price environments, a lot of these deposits wouldnāt get mined,ā Watkins said.
āBut with the gold price having gone up so much in the past 12 months, itās completely changed the dynamics now.ā
The company recently signed a deal to process the gold in Cloncurry and Watkins said the aim was to move into production before the end of the year.
āItās pretty exciting times and I think we might be at the start of a big gold boom,ā he said.
Prospecting requires a licence from the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines.
ā ABC / Eric Barker
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