Amidst political uncertainty and increasing demand, gold has been making headlines as companies continue to invest in the safe haven metal.
This state of affairs has had an especially significant impact on Australia, where a once-beleaguered industry is seeing a strong revival, so much so in fact, that many are calling it a modern day gold rush.
The rush is sending a wave of new exploration throughout the country and is seeing previously mothballed projects being dusted off. According to the Government of Western Australia’s Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, gold sales hit the 200 tonne mark for the first time in over a decade.
Exploration for Gold
In addition to favorable market conditions, exploration for gold has been further bolstered by the renewal of the Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS) in Western Australia (where most of Australia’s gold deposits lie), which aims to encourage exploration by private sector resources in an effort to discover new resources in the region. The incentive scheme took effect in 2009 and expired in mid-2017, but was recently renewed for an additional two years.
Exploration has largely been focused on the Pilbara region of Western Australia, where experts are hoping that a similar geological makeup will translate to a deposit like the Witwatersand in South Africa – currently the world’s largest gold deposit. At the Purdy’s Reward site, a joint venture between Novo Resources and Artemis Resources, “watermelon seed” gold nuggets were found – gold similar in type to that found at Witwatersand – a promising discovery.
According to Mining.com, expenditures on mineral exploration are on the rise, with gold accounting for 45% of the activity. In June of 2017, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that mineral exploration programme of works (POW) applications were up 50% over the previous quarter.
A number of mines are currently in the works, including Kin Mining’s Leonora project, Gold Resources and Gold Fields Ltd.’s Gruyere deposit, and Gascoyne Resources Limited’s Dalgaranga project, to name a few.
In addition to new projects and ongoing exploration, the boom has also seen mines that were mothballed in the commodities downturn reopened, including the Davyhurst mine and the Matilda Mine.
The Economic Impact of Gold
Gold is a massive industry, with far reaching socio-economic implications in everything from education to infrastructure. In a recent study, the World Gold Council estimated that when both direct and indirect impacts are taken into consideration, the gold mining industry contributed $171.6 Billion USD to the world economy.¹
Gold is especially beneficial for local economies, because workforces are more likely to be locally-based. According to the World Gold Council, in their 2013 report, The Social and Economic Impacts of Gold Mining:
“Responsibly undertaken, gold mining has the potential to make a significant, positive impact on the economies of the countries in which gold mining takes place and on the lives of the citizens of those countries.”
This is due in part, because gold mining companies frequently make substantial investments to host communities in order to improve socio-economic conditions.¹
In addition to bolstering communities, the gold industry can also have a significant impact on industries that are heavily tied to the yellow metal’s success.
For example, demand for gold is recognized as a contributing factor to the activated carbon market;² while activated carbon is used in a number of applications, it is also the industry standard for separating gold from cyanide leaching solutions in the gold cyanidation process. In 2016, in combination with other factors, a downturn in gold mining resulted in a reduced demand for activated carbon, causing Haycarb’s Sri Lanka facility to run below capacity.
Mining and processing equipment such as the agglomeration drums utilized in the heap leaching process are also likely to see a bump in demand as miners bring new plants online and look to update existing facilities.
Conclusion
Exploration and activity around gold mining are going strong in Australia’s modern day gold rush, with many optimistic of a substantial find. Gold is critical to both local and global economies, as well as industries that rely in part on demand for gold, such as in the case of activated carbon and the agglomeration drums used in the heap leaching process.
FEECO offers heavy-duty agglomeration drums (ore drums) for use in the heap leaching process. In addition, we can provide custom rotary kilns for the production and regeneration of activated carbon. Furthermore, FEECO Customer Service Engineers can help to assess existing agglomeration drum and rotary kiln operations for reopening, offering improved efficiency, supplying replacement equipment and custom retrofits as needed. For more information on our gold processing capabilities, contact us today!
- World Gold Council. The Social and Economic Impacts of Gold Mining (PDF).