There’s a famous adage attributed to American author Mark Twain about the best way to get rich in a speculative frenzy. “When everyone is digging for gold, it’s good to be in the pick and shovel business,” he said.
There are a number of good reasons the price of gold has been surging in recent months. From geopolitical uncertainty to a growing appetite from global investors to sell US treasuries, the precious metal has more than served its purpose of being a financial safe haven.
But while some Aussies are queueing up to buy it, others are going straight to the source, says Taleesha Kamp who works in the family business selling personal gold prospecting equipment.
“There’s been a huge surge,” she told Yahoo Finance.
“A lot of families and newbies are coming into the hobby.”
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It’s not hard to understand why. The price has doubled in a little over a year.
Her parents started their company Lucky Strike Gold nearly two decades ago. They operate two stores in Victoria selling gold panning equipment and metal detectors as well as operating “tours” which take eager prospectors out to learn how to scout locations, pan for gold and use metal detecting equipment to hopefully strike it big.
With the “crazy” action in the gold price, “every section of the business has been booming,” Taleesha said.
The company takes people on single day tours around the ‘Golden Triangle’ region of Creswick in Victoria as well as week-long expeditions in WA for the more dedicated enthusiasts.
“We’ve got seven-day long tours over in Western Australia, where meals and accommodation is all provided for them. And for seven days it’s just being in the outback and learning how to read the ground and use a metal detector and find gold.”
Ballarat in Victoria, where Taleesha lives, was one of the first areas to properly kick off the Australian gold rush back in 1851. But there are plenty of locations around the country where people can try their luck. There are creeks in parts of New South Wales, the Northern Territory, South Australia, Tasmania, and Western Australia that have specs and nuggets of gold waiting to be found, according to Gold Industry Group.
Fellow gold buyer, prospector and business owner Tyler Mahoney has also encouraged the public to jump on the frenzy if they’re interested.