The gleaming speckled bar is only the size of a chocolate block, but it weighs more than a brick and is worth almost $400,000.
Since the gold rush of the 1800s, the metal has been an important part of the Australian economy. Monash University resources engineering professor Mohan Yellishetty said Australia had the largest known share of gold reserves in the world. While Western Australia is the biggest producer of gold, Victoria’s industry has potential for expansion.
The machinery is now in operation at the Kaiser Reef processing facility in Maldon, where the yellow metal is separated from ore that is dug up from the A1 gold mine in Jamieson, 200 kilometres north-east of Melbourne. Gray said the new machinery would help gold processors to reduce their freshwater use by up to 30 per cent.“Rather than using freshwater, we can recycle the water they’re already using,” she said. “That’s really important for a place like Maldon.
Australia is one of the world’s leading producers of gold, with production hitting 293.8 tonnes in 2023. China was the biggest producer with 378.2 tonnes, followed by Russia with 321.8 tonnes.Credit:Mining company Kaiser Reef is also preparing to resume mining operations at its mine near the processing plant in Maldon. The company’s processing manager, Dylan Morgan, said the mine, which runs to a depth of 350 metres, had been in “care and maintenance” since 2018, when mining operations ceased.
Perth Mint depository general manager John O’Donoghue said uncertainty ahead of the United States election and conflict in the Middle East had been among the factors pushing up the price of gold. He said central banks had also sought to buy more gold in the past 18 months.