Party like it’s 1890: historic gold prices hit Kalgoorlie

I’m at the Diggers & Dealers conference this week, one of the biggest events on the mining calendar.

Major mining firms, investment banks, and service contractors all come together from around the globe to swamp this little town for three days every year.

Getting a ticket is hard.

But this time of year, you’ve got a better chance of stumbling over a piece of gold than finding a bed to sleep on!

This is the heart of Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields.

And like any good geologist, I did my ‘tour of duty’ here.

This golden heartland of Australia is a rite of passage for Aussie geologists and the many Kiwis and Brits who start their mining careers.

And it’s great to be back and reminisce.

Plus, discover that not much has changed since I was here last.

Except that gold prices are much, much higher!

I’m only a couple of hours from stepping off the plane, so there’s not much goss to share from the event yet.

But if you’ve ever travelled to the WA goldfields, you’ll know this place is swimming in gold history.

The precious metal was first discovered here in 1893. However, unlike other prominent gold discovery sites in the 19th century, the Eastern goldfields have continued to deliver to the present day.

The 1893 discovery kicked off a classic gold rush, unearthing Kalgoorlie’s famous ‘golden mile,’ once considered the richest square mile of gold-bearing earth.

Now, that’s been swallowed up by just one giant mine:

The Kalgoorlie Super Pit, Australia’s largest open-cut gold mine. It’s about 600 meters deep, 3.5 kilometres long and 1.5 kilometres wide.

Mined for over a century, the waste rock stands proudly over the town like a mammoth man-made mountain range! Towering over the mostly flat, featureless landscape.

And many major gold firms have put their name to this Super Pit, including North American giants Barrick Gold and Newmont.

But it now sits firmly in Australian hands, wholly owned and operated by Australia’s largest gold miner, Northern Star (ASX: NST).

From the biggest to the deepest: Another famous legacy in the Goldfields

Many mining careers began in the WA Goldfields.

None more famous than former US President Herbert Hoover.

Dubbed America’s Depression-era President, Hoover took the poisoned chalice just six months before the Wall Street Crash in 1929.

But decades prior to his rise to the top in American politics, Hoover was kicking rocks across the WA Goldfields as a mining engineer.

He developed the Sons of Gwalia Mine in Leonora, about four hours north of Kalgoorlie.

And just like the Super Pit, this site remains in operation more than a century later, having reached an incredible 1,600m depth!

Australia’s deepest underground mine is now owned by Genesis Minerals (ASX: GMD).

And a few minutes’ walk from where I’m staying sits Kalgoorlie’s Palace Hotel.

This was once a regular stopover for Hoover, largely thanks to his liking of the local barmaid.

Alas, this local Kal girl never quite climbed to the ranks of America’s First Lady!

But a mirror gifted by Hoover, as well as the original poem he wrote to his Kalgoorlie Sweetheart, still sits proudly in the foyer of the Hotel:

That’s just a brief taste of the history of the town. But with gold sitting near record highs, the Diggers & Dealers event is buzzing right now.

So, time to get back to it, and uncover some of the mining and exploration goss!

Stay tuned.

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