The gold rush of the 1850s transformed Victoria, with its riches providing the highest living standards in the world at the time.
But despite all the gold mined at the time, some believe it is still to be discovered.
A recent scientific survey supports this idea.
“It’s about the same amount of gold that has never been mined across the state. That’s an estimate from Geo Science Victoria,” said James Sorahan of the Victorian branch of the Australian Minerals Council.
And with a rising gold price, currently around $ 2,600 per ounce, the mining sector is booming.
Mineral exploration
Last year, mining generated $ 1 billion for Victoria’s economy.
More than half was spent on salaries and mining services across the state.
And a record $ 200 million was invested in mineral exploration.
If the previous miners had gone in a different direction, they would have nailed their selection in this great row of gold ore. (Tim Lee)
This year is meant to crush those figures in what is called the “new rush.”
“What we’re experiencing in Victoria is a second rush, really,” Mr. Sorahan.
“Gold mining is bigger than it has been in a long time, and hopefully it’s even bigger. People think of the 1850s, 1860s, 1870s, but what we’re seeing is a new rush in the 2020s. “.
New technologies make this possible, such as geothermal mapping that can detect mineral deposits from the air, and exploratory drills that take samples from a mile’s core underground.
Richard Darby inspects gold mining relics left by a city with a maximum population of 500. (Tim Lee)
These sophisticated tools are bringing new life and activity to the long-abandoned gold deposits that the ancients thought they had given their last.
New mining leases
At Swift’s Creek, in the high country of Victoria, the Australian gold mining company First AU has contracted extensive mining leases in the area.
With modern exploration techniques, he is re-evaluating old works looking for new mineral sources.
Initial results show some high quality gold deposits.
“They vary, but they’ve taken 15 to 30 grams per tonne out of the ground, and a lot of it is quite shallow,” said First AU CEO Ryan Skeen.
Richard Darby and Ryan Skeen of First AU Mining Company in the depths of Richard’s gold mine. (Tim Lee)
Skeen believes that in the past the remoteness and rugged terrain of the region deterred miners.
Geology also played a role in erratically functioning mineral veins, making gold deposits elusive.
But it was gold that attracted longtime Swift’s Creek shopkeeper and miner Richard Darby to the region 40 years ago.
The search for gold as a child stopped him.
“For example, if you have a bad day, well, just think of gold, think of a reef, and it’s like a religion to you,” said Darby, 77.
Darby has searched for gold throughout Australia, studied ancient mining records, and thoroughly explored the region’s streams and ravines.
The rugged high country of East Gippsland is expected to be Victoria’s next big gold field. (Tim Lee)
Find gold in the backyard
But his biggest strike could still be in his own backyard, in a long-abandoned mine on a steep slope.
“It dates back to 1900, and the old ones were brilliant, but unfortunately, they didn’t read that terrain as well as they could because it seems to cut,” he said.
Digging in the opposite direction to the old miners, Mr. Darby discovered a wide row of rust-colored mineral ore at the end of a 30-foot-long well.
Initial results suggest that it contains payable gold and other metals, but even better, exploratory drilling indicates that the seam extends a certain distance to the hill.
First AU hopes that this finding can herald a great field of gold for Victoria.
The Fosterville Mine in central Victoria is one of the richest gold mines in the world. (Tim Lee)
Geological evidence suggests that the region is linked to the rich gold deposits in central Victoria, home to Fosterville, Victoria’s largest gold mine.
It is one of the most profitable high-grade gold mines in the world and last year produced more than half a million ounces of gold.
Stimulation of the economy
If mining rises to the hills around Swift’s Creek, it will give an economic boost to a remote region struggling to retain its young.
Richard Darby’s grandson Tom Darby, 23, is already working at First AU and more job opportunities are expected.
The favorable economic climate is seeing other mining activities in the region and across the state.
But gold is not the only goal.
Victoria Regional is experiencing a renaissance of gold rush with huge economic benefits. (ABC News: Jarrod Lucas)
“We have a wide variety of minerals in Victoria: mineral sands, rare earths, base metals; there’s exploration in copper, zinc, so we actually have a very wide range,” Sorahan said.
“The more raw materials, the more mines, the more minerals, the stronger this industry will be and the more it will add to our regional economies.”
At Swift’s Creek First, AU will bring much-needed capital and experience to the promising prospect of Mr. Darby.
“Even a medium-sized mining program requires a significant investment, I would say, hundreds of millions of dollars,” Skeen said.
“It requires new skills, it requires new training, new infrastructure, all of these things, so if someone could get something up and running, I think it would be very important to the local community.”
Watch this story on ABC TV’s landline at 12:30 on Sunday or on ABC iview.
Posted 2 hours ago 2 hours ago Friday, June 3, 2022 at 9:03 PM, updated 1 hour, 1 hours ago, Friday, June 3, 2022 at 9:38 PM