Just when mining companies were reporting that we might have hit “peak gold,” underground miners in Western Australia have gone on to make this decade’s most amazing find. Miners at the Beta Hunt mine in the small town of Kambalda discovered, 633 kilometres west of Perth and brought forth $15 million worth of gold specimens over a four day period. These gold rocks were discovered 500 metres below the surface. The largest and specimen weighed about 90 kilograms and the smallest stock weighs about 60kg. These rocks each cost $3.8 million and $2,6 million respectively.
The miner accredited with this discovery, Henry Dole has said that he has never seen anything like it in his 16 years as an airleg miner. According to the Senior geologist at the mine, this is a “once-in-a- lifetime discovery.” In most mines around the world, gold is usually spotted with a magnifying glass. You don’t just come across large rock specimens like that. This counts amongst some of the largest gold nuggets found in the Australian outback. The best nuggets found in the area typically weigh the best weigh around 2,000 ounces or about 56,6 kilograms. This is the largest gold find. Usually, gold nuggets get gold buyers Melbourne excited, however, this isn’t the type of find that would land up in any gold buyer’s shop.
Gold is one the rarest minerals on earth. It makes up about 0.003 parts per million of earth’s crust. Last year, the mining industry reported a 3,248 tonne production of gold. This is reportedly a 5% decline from the amount that was reportedly mined in 2008. The discovery at Kambalda is a significant one in that it shows you that there might still be a lot more gold buried deep in the ground. Just when things look bleak for the gold mining industry, something like this happens.
Beta Hunt mine has been around for years, however, it isn’t exactly known for gold, but mainly for nickel which is used in the production of stainless steel. Gold has always been secondary. There are stories that workers in the mine have been finding hold specimens since the 1970s, but that they would bury the gold until such time that the price of gold went significantly up.
Ironically, the owners of the mine, the Canadian based RNC Minerals had been battling to keep the mine open and are currently in the process of selling the mine. According to the mine management, this important find will not make them change their minds about the sale, but there is hope that this discovery will enable whoever buys the mine to explore the mine further. This could be the find that brings hope to the local community which has been affected by mine closures over the last couple of years.
This is not the kind of find that you could go and sell off to gold buyers Melbourne. The rarity and the presentation of gold within the quartz rock could fetch up to 50 percent premiums on the melt value. There are a number of collectors who are expected to line up for a chance to bid for the specimen when they go to auction in the next couple of weeks.
There is hope that there might be more down the mine and maybe in the surrounding area. This is the kind of news that gold miners love and maybe, just maybe this could be the beginnings of a new modern-day gold rush.
