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Striking gold is the dream for thousands of Australians but there's a 'paradox' holding them back
By Simon Johanson
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday, May 23, 2026
Dig, doze, and detect is how Matthew Carkeek expects to strike gold on a historic plot of land at Dunolly, in one of Victoria's richest gold regions.
Carkeek, the owner of a specialist concrete construction firm, is one of hundreds of thousands of Australians prospecting, fossicking, and mining for the elusive precious metal as the soaring price of bullion underpins a mini modern-day gold rush.
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The 50-year-old father is a rarity -- a prospector and fossicker who has gravitated to become a miner in his own right. He has outlaid about $1.5 million on land, equipment, and permits, and spent two years navigating government bureaucracy for licences and approvals, before he expects to fire up a bulldozer and start digging in two months’ time.
"What I’m going for is about as simple as you can get," he says. "There's no treatment plant, there's no wash plant, no chemicals or anything like that. It's literally dig, doze, and detect."
Thousands are following in Carkeek's footsteps, lured by the yellow metal's lustre. ...
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