Gold Mining

Gold is found as a free metal in nature. It can be found as nuggets or bound up with rock and too small to see with the naked eye. It is sometimes found in association with other metals.
 

Gold mining in New Zealand

The successful new process of using cyanide solution to recover gold led to a major expansion of the Martha mine which by 1903 was the largest gold mine in New Zealand. When the Martha mine eventually closed in 1952 it had produced about five million ounces of gold from nearly 11 million tonnes of ore which was mined almost exclusively by underground methods.

Throughout most of the 20th century production declined mainly due to the falling real price of gold. Rising gold prices from the mid-1970s led to a surge of investment in gold exploration and production after more than 50 years of decline. At its peak in the mid-1980s, about 20 exploration companies were active and a string of discoveries were made. Gold production increased from less than 10,000 ounces in 1983 to 390,000 ounces in 1995 – an output last achieved 80 years ago.

New Zealand’s officially recorded production of gold up to December 1995 was 958 tonnes but there was probably a large additional quantity undeclared, particularly during the early gold rushes.

Gold mining today

New Zealand has an active gold mining industry with annual gold production of approximately 11.8 tonnes. Gold is found in the South Island as small nuggets or flakes of alluvial gold or bound up with rock in the North and South Islands.

New Zealand’s largest identified gold resource is the Macraes Mine in East Otago which has been mined since the early 1990s and has a resource of 94 tonnnes Au. Today, Macraes Mine, Reefton Mine and Martha Mine in Waihi are the only three large producing gold mines - all are hard rock mines - and operate to environmental guidelines set by New Zealand’s Crown Minerals. There are still many small mines and weekend miners working small claims mainly in the South Island.