Gold rush...Discovery of nuggets worth $15million could cause a ‘mini gold rush’ in Aussie outback A ‘mini gold rush’ could be imminent for an outback mining town down on its luck.
In the days since enormous nuggets of gold worth $15million were found in the nickel mining town of Kambalda, about 630km east of Perth, locals have begun speculating the discovery could reinvigorate the town.
Exploration companies with land near the mine where the gold was found say they have already been overwhelmed with calls from potential prospectors.
The gold was found during a ‘business as usual’ day at work by miner Henry Dole over the weekend.
The $15million discovery at the Beta Hunt mine was exactly what the tight-knit community at Kambalda needed.
Hundreds of job losses over the past four years had seen residents view the future of the town with ‘doom and gloom’, a local real estate agent told ABC.
Cheryl Davis, who has lived in Kambalda for more than 25 years, said the discovery had lifted the town’s morale.
‘Everyone’s talking about how good this is for our town and that our town isn’t going to die. We’re looking on the up.’
Kalgoorlie-based gold buyer Angus Line said the global publicity generated could spark a ‘mini gold rush’ throughout the area.
‘It creates a lot of excitement for the new-age prospector,’ he said.
‘Finding something like this does create a lot of optimism; people have the belief they can go out and make a small fortune.’
Lefroy Exploration say they have found hundreds of gold nuggets over the past five years in their land package only 10km away from the Beta Hunt mine.
‘It’s the amount and the size of the find down at Beta Hunt which has got everyone excited and now the question is, how do we find another one?’ Wade Johnson, managing director of Lefroy Exploration said.
The discovery has also stalled the Canadian owners of the Beta Hunt mine to reconsider an original plan to sell it.
The future of the town had looked to be in doubt, with four major nickel mines closing within three years.
Jobs were decimated, to the point where the town’s only medical clinic and bank branch had to close.
But the gold discovery hoped to breathe new life into the community, according to Mr Line.
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