Gold prices have soared to an all-time high, bolstering the West Coast mining industry.
West Coast Goldminers Association president Brett Cummings said this week that for every 10 ounces, miners got another $NZ1000, as prices shot as high as $NZ2650 an ounce ($US1677).
"It makes a huge difference. It's never been this high before."
On the ground, miners would be waiting to see what happened before deciding if they should expand their operation, noting there was still an estimated $3 billion of gold left under Department of Conservation stewardship land.
"We don't know how long [prices] will stay up there."
However, if it continued to trade strongly, he expected some people from Christchurch would head to the West Coast "thinking they're going to make a fortune", as happened in the 1980s.
Mr Cummings said his advice was the gold price would keep rising, drop, then rise again. It brought relief to the sector, the same way rain would to farmers.
Greymouth-based gold buyer Eddie Davis said the last time the gold price came close to the current high was about eight years ago.
The rise was driven by panicked investors as they scrambled to protect their savings from the coronavirus contagion, he said.
— Greymouth Star
