Promise of gold lures prospectors

RISE: Gold fever has hit the West Coast

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Gold fever has hit the West Coast with a big rise in the number of mineral exploration applications.

Crown Minerals figures show there were 89 applications for mineral prospecting, mining and exploration permits in the region in 2009, compared with 33 the previous year.

Thirty-seven applications were granted, including 24 mineral mining permits, compared with 19 in 2008. Fifty-four permits were issued nationally last year.

For Duncan Davidson, it is important not to get carried away as he contemplates goldmining on land near Hokitika.

"I try not to think about it. I think it's a disease. You get a little bit of gold and there's an attraction there and you've got to be very careful," he said.

West Coast Commercial Gold Miners Association spokesman John Wood said most of the mineral permits would be for gold.

"I'm definitely seeing more interest, and 2009 was the busiest I have been since the late 1980s," said Wood, who runs a Hokitika consultancy company for miners.

The increased activity was fed by the high gold price, which was about NZ$1530 an ounce yesterday.

As the economy stalled, some companies had turned to gold in the hope it would provide an extra source of income, he said.

Westco Lagan applied for resource consent to mine gold near its sawmill in Ruatapu, near Hokitika.

Director Dean Sweetman said mining the five-hectare site was economically viable because of the high price of gold.

"If successful, it will provide cash flow to support the sawmilling operation," he said.

Davidson, 66, a registered nurse, plans to search for gold on his 16ha near the Hokitika River.

He was granted a mining permit this month, but had been trying to get one for over 10 years.

"I don't think I will become a millionaire, but hopefully what comes out of it will be the development of the land," he said. "But you never know - it's in those last few digs that you might strike it good. It's an elusive thing."

- © Fairfax NZ News