A West Australian gold mining company claims it has struck the potentially largest discovery ever in the state’s iron ore-rich Pilbara region. But analysts are divided on whether it will spark a new gold rush, as other miners try their luck in the region.
De Grey Mining technical director and operations manager Andy Beckwith said the scale of the discovery had never been seen before in the Pilbara.
While gold stocks have been somewhat dampened by fears over the coronavirus pandemic, investors have celebrated De Grey Mining’s discovery, sending its stocks 411 per cent higher over a month since the drilling results were released in February.
Gold has traditionally been seen as a safe haven for investors, and many others are spending time looking for it. Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show mineral exploration expenditure rose 5.6 per cent to $722.1 million in December 2019.
The largest increase was in gold exploration, which rose 7.5 per cent worth $21.1 million. The gold system was discovered at a site called Hemi, which is part of De Grey Mining’s Mallina Gold Project, located about 80 kilometres south of Port Hedland.
For the rest of this article: https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2020-03-19/de-grey-pilbara-gold-discovery-turns-investors-heads/12060490