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Australia is the second-largest producer of gold in the world and is home to the largest gold mine reserves. The country's most prolific gold-mining areas are in Western Australia, which is considered one of the best mining jurisdictions in the world. Western Australia alone produced 211.22 tonnes of gold in 2023, accounting for almost 70% of Australia's total gold production. Other top gold-producing states in Australia include South Australia and New South Wales.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Gold-mining areas | Western Australia, Victoria, Northern Territory |
| Gold deposits | Lode-gold deposits, copper-gold deposits, porphyry deposits, epithermal deposits |
| Gold mines | Cadia-Ridgeway mine, Fosterville goldfield, Tanami |
| Gold production | 288 tonnes in 2016-17, 3298 tonnes in 2018 |
| Gold reserves | 9,500 tonnes |
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What You'll Learn
Western Australia is the country's major gold producer
Australia is the second-largest producer of gold in the world, with 288 tonnes of gold produced in 2016-17. The country has 66 operating gold mines, 14 of which are among the world's largest. Of these, 11 are in Western Australia, making it the country's major gold producer. In 2021, the state accounted for 68% (218 tonnes) of Australia's total gold mine output. If Western Australia were a country, it would be the fifth-largest gold producer globally.
Western Australia's Eastern Goldfields is Australia's premier gold province, with major Archean greenstone-hosted deposits. The Yilgarn Craton, located in the Eastern Goldfields, is Australia's leading gold-bearing region. The Pilbara region in Western Australia has also attracted renewed interest, with its vast resource-rich area of over half a million square kilometres. The area has attracted major miners like Rio Tinto and BHP.
The discovery of gold in Western Australia dates back to the first gold rush in the 1890s, sparked by the discovery of the 'Golden Mile' in Kalgoorlie. Gold has been a significant contributor to the state's growth and development, with a history of mining that has led to the establishment of a robust industry.
In 2016-17, gold was the second most valuable mineral sector in Western Australia, generating $10.8 billion in sales, or 12.3% of total mineral sales. By 2023, gold became the state's second most valuable commodity, with sales reaching a record AU$20 billion. More than 75% of the state's gold sales come from just ten producers.
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Gold deposits in Victoria
The state hosts one of the world's largest orogenic gold provinces, with orogenic gold deposits accounting for almost all primary gold production in Victoria. These deposits are typically found in folded, faulted, and regionally metamorphosed Cambrian to Devonian turbidites, with mineralisation associated with the late stages of regional deformation or reactivation of older structures. The timing, character, and intensity of orogenic gold mineralisation vary across the state, influenced by the geological history of its known structural zones.
Mesozonal orogenic gold, found in quartz veins occupying dilational zones in fault sand at fold axes, is a significant component of Victoria's gold deposits. These quartz veins can be over 20 metres wide and can be traced horizontally and vertically for hundreds of metres. Gold-bearing quartz veins often form vein systems covering up to 150 square kilometres, with mineralised areas containing more than 100 tonnes of gold. The main phase of mesozonal orogenic mineralisation occurred around 440 million years ago in the Bendigo and Stawell zones and around 380 million years ago in the Melbourne Zone.
Epizonal orogenic gold deposits, which are less common, are characterised by submicroscopic inclusions of gold in sulphides within quartz sulphide veins and stockworks in faults. The Fosterville goldfield in the Bendigo Zone is the only major known ore field of this type in Victoria, with a total gold yield of at least 65 tonnes. Other epizonal orogenic deposits in Victoria, such as Costerfield, Nagambie, Heathcote, and Bailieston, contain smaller amounts of gold, typically less than 10 tonnes.
Victoria's gold deposits also include sulphide-rich deposits in the east of the state, which often contain significant base metals, and goldfields associated with granites, such as Maldon, which has produced 65 tonnes of gold. The Victorian gold province's mineralising event is linked to various geological processes, including diorite dykes, granite intrusions, volcanic activity, deformation, and regional metamorphism. The fluid chemistry data from these gold deposits indicates the presence of low-salinity fluids containing CO2 and variable amounts of methane.
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Lode-gold deposits
In 2018, lode-gold deposits in Australia produced 216 tonnes or 69% of the country's gold mine production, more than double the yield of the next largest type of deposit. Copper-gold deposits, which include porphyry and iron oxide-copper-gold deposits, produced 77 tonnes or 24% of national production in the same year.
Epithermal deposits, which are a type of lode deposit, are relatively uncommon in Australia as they tend to be younger than other geographic formations. They are primarily found in the Siluro-Ordovician Macquarie Arc in New South Wales, with other deposits in Drummond Basin in northeast Queensland and Connors-Auburn in Eastern Australia. Porphyry deposits, another type of copper-gold deposit, are found in New South Wales, with the Cadia-Ridgeway mine and Northparkes mine being the two largest-known producing porphyry copper deposits in the state.
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Copper-gold deposits
There are several copper-gold deposits in Australia. The Cadia-Ridgeway mine in New South Wales is a combination of underground and open-cut mines. The Northparkes copper-gold mine is also located in New South Wales. The Whim Creek project in Western Australia's Pilbara region is a fully permitted copper-gold project with four deposits, two of which are proposed as open-pit mines and two as underground mines. The Eva Copper project in Queensland is owned by South Africa's Harmony Gold Mining Company and includes the Little Eva and Blackard deposits. The Havieron project is an underground copper-gold development-stage asset located in the Paterson region of Western Australia.
The largest known copper-gold deposit is the Olympic Dam in South Australia, located 560 kilometres north of Adelaide. The Olympic Dam is Australia's largest underground mine. The total resources exceed 9 billion tonnes of ore, containing an average grade of 0.8% copper, 280 ppm uranium oxide, 0.76 g/t gold, and 3.95 g/t silver. The Olympic Dam is valued at around US$1,000 billion, making it the world's largest multi-mineral deposit. Other copper-gold deposits in South Australia include Prominent Hill, Carrapateena, Hillside, and the Elizabeth Creek project.
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Epithermal deposits
Epithermal gold deposits are a type of lode deposit, meaning they occur between layers of bedrock. They are formed when groundwater comes into contact with hot molten rocks deep underground, dissolving the silicate minerals in the rocks, as well as metals within the sedimentary rocks, including gold. Epithermal gold deposits are typically high-grade, near-surface deposits, making them attractive to mining companies. They are also known to contain economic concentrations of precious metals like silver, and sometimes base metals such as copper, lead, iron ore, and zinc.
Epithermal gold deposits are often characterised by a network of mineralised veins within igneous or metamorphic rocks. They are commonly found in island, volcanic, and continental arcs associated with subduction, as well as in shallow marine environments and in association with hot springs. In Australia, they are primarily found in the Siluro-Ordovician Macquarie Arc in New South Wales, with other noteworthy deposits in the Drummond Basin in northeast Queensland and Connors-Auburn in Eastern Australia.
Epithermal gold deposits are usually mined using open-cut pit technologies, as they are found at shallow depths. This method of mining is more cost-effective than underground techniques.
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Frequently asked questions
Gold is most commonly found in Western Australia, which is one of the best mining jurisdictions in the world.
The two most important types of gold deposits found in Australia are lode-gold deposits and copper-gold deposits, which include porphyry deposits.
Porphyry deposits are a type of lode deposit, meaning they occur between layers of bedrock. They are formed when a column of rising magma cools and differentiates over multiple stages.
Australia's two largest known porphyry copper deposits are found in New South Wales: the Cadia-Ridgeway mine and the Northparkes mine.
Western Australia has the highest Economic Demonstrated Resources (EDR) of gold, with 4499 tonnes or 44% of the total EDR in Australia.
