Australia is estimated to have the world's largest
Victoria hosts one of the world's largest orogenic gold provinces. Orogenic gold deposits represent by far the most economically important primary gold mineralisation in Victoria, accounting for almost all primary gold production (more than 1100 tonnes) and include most of the known and potential resources.
While that gold rush saw the extraction of thousands of tonnes of gold from Victorian soil, there is still plenty left. What some have called a "second gold rush" is now under way, as large mining companies and amateur fossickers use modern technology.
Nothing excites a gold prospector more than the chance of finding a big piece of gold. Big gold nuggets are a rare object these days but it is still possible to find a decent size gold nugget in Western Australia.
Australia is one of the leading gold-producing nations in the world. In fiscal year 2022, around 308 metric tons of gold were produced in Australia. By 2023, the production volume was forecast to reach 320 metric tons.
In Australia this concentration of gold took place in the Earth hundreds of millions of years ago in the eastern states, and thousands of millions of years ago in Western Australia. As well as gold, the fluids can carry other dissolved minerals, such as quartz. This is why gold is often found with quartz.
Australia is home to one of the largest concentrations of orogenic gold in the world, the Victorian Goldfields. A collection of deposits also known as the Victorian Golden Triangle, the goldfields are situated in Northcentral Victoria. Many of Australia's gold mines target orogenic deposits.
The low-down on gold panning
Make sure you have permission to pan for gold, as no one would be happy to find you trespassing on their land. You'll need to pick up a Miner's Right Permit to do any prospecting in Australia. You can easily apply for one online or at some tourist centres.
Considered by most authorities to be the biggest gold nugget ever found, the Welcome Stranger was found at Moliagul, Victoria, Australia, in 1869 by John Deason and Richard Oates. It weighed gross, over 2,520 troy ounces (78 kg; 173 lb) and returned over 2,284 troy ounces (71.0 kg; 156.6 lb) net.
Our certified nuggets start at $50.00 and go up to several thousand dollars depending on the nugget size and the market price of gold. Our nuggets are weighed in pennyweight (DWT) 1 pennyweight equals 1.55 grams, 20 pennyweights equal 1 troy ounce.
You want to look for signs of gold like black sands, pyrite and small quartz, as these are all usually good indicators of gold being in the area. Garnets may also be present, often appearing in many shades of colors including red, orange and pink!
Victoria's gold-bearing rocks are sandstones, siltstones and mudstones, deposited in deep marine conditions some 400 million years ago. Today they form a bedrock spine that runs east to west through Victoria, with the Great Divide running along the crest of Victoria's Western and Eastern Uplands.
Dimonds in Australia
Australia's largest and most economic diamond deposit has been the Argyle Mine, in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia. It started production in the early 1980s and was, for some years, the world's largest diamond mine by volume.
New South Wales: A Fossicking Permit is required for fossicking in state forests, otherwise not required. Queensland: A Fossicking Permit is required. Tasmania: A prospecting license is required. Western Australia: A license is required.
The main destination of Gold exports from Australia are: China ($5.86B), Hong Kong ($2.33B), Singapore ($1.95B), India ($1.42B), and Switzerland ($1.33B). The fastest growing export markets for Gold of Australia between 2020 and 2021 were China ($4.73B), India ($1.14B), and Hong Kong ($1.03B).
An Australian man armed with a budget metal detector has hit the jackpot, finding a 4.6kg rock containing gold worth A$240,000 (£130,000; $160,000). The man, who doesn't want to be named, made the discovery in Victoria's goldfields - which were the heart of Australia's gold rush in the 1800s.
You can't buy, hold or sell gold unless it is a legitimate part of your trade or in the form of jewellery.
In Australia, you can buy and invest in gold by: Buying physical gold (i.e. Gold Bullion) Investing in gold stocks or ETFs.
Besides trying your beginner's luck at Hannans North Tourist Mine, there are many other places within Australia's Golden Outback to go gold panning. Once you have obtained a Miner's Right, you may go gold panning anywhere that's not: Unoccupied crown lands not covered by a granted mining tenement.
Today, Welsh gold is scarcer than it has ever been. When mining took place at the Clogau St David's Gold Mine in the late 1990s it used to cost over £1000 per ounce to extract. With no gold mining happening in Wales today, Welsh gold supplies may eventually run out, making it possibly the rarest gold in the world.
Australia and Russia hold the largest reserves of gold
Australia and Russia hold a large share of the world's gold mine reserves, accounting for 8,400 metric tons and 6,800 metric tons, respectively. Worldwide, the production of gold reached an estimated 3,100 metric tons in 2022.