The Victorian Gold History

Victoria is one of the largest gold producing regions in Australia. Considering this country alone, 32% of the gold mined in Australia, equivalent to 2400 tonnes was in Victoria. At a global level, this region makes up 2% of the produced gold and is the second largest gold site in the world. WA is the only area which has produced more gold, around 3275 tonnes.

Ballarat, Fosterville and Stawell are the biggest gold sites in Victoria. The three largest quart mines in Victoria are the Long Tunnel Mine, the Morning Star Mine, and the Port Phillip Co Mine at Walhalla, Woods Point and Clunes, respectively. These mines have produced 32.2, 19.6 and 16.0 tons of gold. The average gold produced per year is around 4.6 tonnes.

The 1850s Decade

The first gold mine found in Victoria was in the year 1850 in Clunes by James Esmond. The next gold was discovered at Ballarat which ultimately led to the Gold Rush. The site was deemed as the richest gold field in the world, which enjoyed its peak in the years 1852 and 1853.  The gold rush spread out to the Mt Alexander field in Castlemaine as well. By the end of 1851, over 20,000 diggers were producing 23,000 oz. of gold on a weekly basis.

The gold search then moved northwards; in April 1952, two more adjacent sites were discovered at Peg Leg gully in Bendigo, yielding 324 pounds of the precious metal. Other nearby sites like Eagle Hawk Gully also received attention of 6000 diggers, such that the population rose to 40,000 by the month of June in the same year. Discoveries were also made at Maldon, Creswick, Daylesford and Maryborough. In the latter part of the decade, discoveries were made in both the east and west including Stawell, Walhalla and Beechworth.

The First Two Decades of the 20th Century

A brief gold rush was discovered in Tarnagulla, in the year 1906, in central Victoria. This was followed by discovering the Poseidon Nuggets, the largest of which was 953 oz. However, by 1920s, the mines in Bendigo and Ballarat stopped producing gold, and mining remained inactive for the next several decades.

Gold Revival in the 1990s

In the 1980s and 1990s, electronic detectors became the new fancy. Mining operations eventually became full scale at Woods Point and Stawell, and gold production increased sharply. Several new mines opened up, and more money was spent on exploration. The Victorian Initiative of Minerals and Petroleum (VIMP) made useful information available and acted as a catalyst, leading to more exploratory licenses.

Recent Times

Nowadays, historical gold producing sites like Stawell, Bendigo, Ballarat, Maldon, Fosterville and Tarnagulla are once again in the focus.  As per the stats, around 70 million gold ounces still have to be discovered specifically at Stawell and Bendigo. Thus, gold is easily available in the country at affordable rates, and is considered to be a worthy investment. Whether you choose a physical location to buy gold bars in Melbourne or an online website, you would enjoy a good return.

The future of gold in Victoria and Australia is a promising one. Latest technologies have simplified discovery and extraction as such that any investor can capitalise on the blooming gold industry.