Soaring prices spark Australia gold rush by new generation of fortune hunters

In the hinterlands of Victoria’s historic goldfields, gold hunter Kelly Smith sifted through a leaf-covered forest, shovelful by shovelful, as her metal detector beeped. Instead of gold, she uncovered a round metal object—a shotgun pellet.

Smith, from the country town of Koondrook, was prospecting with her partner during a training session organized by the Gold Centre in Maryborough. The 50-year-old remained undeterred, saying she enjoys being in the bush while hoping to get lucky and find some gold.

Her story is becoming increasingly common across the country, as hobbyists flock to Australia’s 9,600-square-kilometer “golden triangle” in central Victoria, known as one of the world’s most prospective regions for gold nuggets.

Prospectors have been encouraged by record gold prices, social media, the popularity of the TV show Aussie Gold Hunters, and a love of the outdoors, according to Reuters interviews with a dozen gold hunters.

Seventy-two-year-old gold hunting tour guide Tony Mills recalled his largest find, an 80-ounce nugget. Just two months ago, he uncovered a three-and-a-half-ounce piece, roughly the size of a walnut, which he proudly displayed from his pocket.

Mills was briefing gold hunters on metal detectors, which are also sold at the Gold Centre in Maryborough. The Minelab Gold Monster 2000, a model used by many gold hunters and priced at A$2,999 ($1,992), sold out nationwide within weeks of its October 20 launch, according to Leanne Kamp, joint owner of Lucky Strike Gold in Geelong.

The lure of large nuggets also motivates Damian Duke, 39, a construction worker who used to go prospecting with his father, who passed away three years ago.

“Seeing what nuggets they’re finding out there and what they’re actually getting for them is definitely a big boost, because that can help us pay off a lot of bills,” he said.

Gold prices have reached successive records this year, surging above $4,500 a troy ounce last Friday. Goldman Sachs predicts prices will reach $4,900 by the end of 2026, with further gains likely if private investors continue diversifying their portfolios amid geopolitical and fiscal uncertainty.

In Victoria, fossickers must purchase a permit from the state government. The permit allows them to fossick using only hand tools and to keep any gold they find.

Demand for miner’s right permits, which cost A$28.60 each and last for a decade, has hit all-time highs—almost 16,000 by November, up from nearly 11,000 last year, according to Victoria’s Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, which provided the figures exclusively to Reuters.

In total, there are more than 100,000 active miner’s right permits in Victoria.

While the dream of riches may draw people out, prospectors said they stay because of the psychological benefits—focusing on the hunt, spending time in nature, and connecting with others.

In the forest of Mount Doran, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) west of Melbourne, Vicki Plumridge was overjoyed when she unearthed a small golden nugget.

After digging it out of the shallow dirt with a plastic trowel, a guide estimated the nugget weighed around 0.2 grams of gold, worth about A$40 ($26.84).

The 63-year-old retired retail worker, who had bought her detector just days earlier, said she hadn’t found anything for a long time and wasn’t expecting to get rich quickly.

“I watched the seasons change, took photos of the birds, the flowers, and everything else, and just love being out here, away from suburbia,” she said.

($1 = 1.5049 Australian dollars)

-Production: Hollie Adams, Xiaoyu Yin/Reuters