Earnscleugh's historic tailings left from the days of dredging along the Clutha River stand testament to the ground's worth.
After a long time left untouched by miners, the Earnscleugh area is again sparking interest from a mining company keen to bank on gold's sky-high prices.
In the late 1990s, it was Mintago Investments Ltd's idea to conduct a feasibility study into alluvial gold-mining across the Earnscleugh flats.
Mintago, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the publicly-listed Australian company Perilya Mine NL, completed its feasibility study in 1997, drawing the attention of others in the industry.
L and M Mining bought out Mintago shortly after, along with its proposal for a two-stage mining operation covering about 620ha of land opposite the Earnscleugh tailings and alongside existing horticultural blocks within the community.
The project was estimated at the time to yield about 230,000 ounces of gold in the first stage alone, which was to take between nine and 15 years to complete.
Perceived benefits then and now included the creation of jobs and a multi-million dollar financial injection into the Central Otago economy.
Despite L and M's scaled down version of what Mintago had proposed in its feasibility study, opposition to the potential effects of mining near residences and orchards grew.
The Earnscleugh Gold Mine Action Group was formed in 1999 following a public meeting of about 200 Earnscleugh residents concerned with plans to mine in their backyard.
A process of applying for resource consents was a drawn-out affair as L and M attempted to allay concerns.
The Otago Regional Council and Central Otago District Council eventually granted consents and permits for the mining operation in 2001, which was appealed to the Environment Court.
In 2004, Judge D. Sheppard gave final approval to L and M by granting a series of amended permits and consents.
These were designed to mitigate potentially adverse effects.
With gold prices not worth the element's extraction, L and M stalled the mining until announcing this year it planned to proceed with a slightly smaller operation.
No longer planning to divert the Fraser River, it allowed two permits to lapse, while holding on to others valid until 2016.
Preparatory ground work began this week before a July starting date for the actual mining, which is set to be completed in 2016.
