Gold in Queensland

The Australian state of Queensland is perhaps best known for its sun, beaches and livable cities, but like all other Australian states, it’s endowed with vast mineral resources and wide open spaces that make it an attractive investment opportunity the world over.

According to the Fraser Institute’s latest survey of mining companies, Australia is the most attractive region for mining in terms of global investment. However, Australia’s jurisdictions all had their policy perspective index (PPI) scores decline from 2020/2021.

“The subjective and unpredictable regulatory process is preventing new mining developments,” the report noted about Queensland, which fell behind Canadian mining jurisdictions such as Ontario, the Yukon, Quebec and the province of Saskatchewan for investment attractiveness.

That said, just about anything you can shake a stick at is mined in Queensland, and though it may be best known for its coal exports (Queensland represents around 50 percent of Australia’s coal resources, which totalled AU$69.6 billion in 2018/2019), the state is dotted with active mines as well, with a modest collection that produce gold.

Many of the state’s gold mines are held in private hands, and overall, Queensland represents some 6 percent of the economic demonstrated gold resources in the country at roughly 710 tonnes.

In 2020/2021, Queensland’s mines produced 13 tonnes of gold, making it the fifth most productive state in Australia for the precious metal, just beneath the Northern Territory’s output (15 tonnes), and trailing New South Wales (36 tonnes) and Victoria (24 tonnes). Queensland is well behind Western Australia, the king of gold production in the country, which produced 218 tonnes in the same year. Altogether, the country produced 320.1 tonnes during the period.

Nevertheless, as an attractive jurisdiction with active gold mines in the southeast, the north and the western portions of the state, Queensland remains an interesting proposition for investors, with a state government that courts investment and that is known for pushing for more mining activity — especially in the coal sector — and diversification for its economy.

The state has many historical ties with the industry. Though it’s now inactive and has been for decades, the Mount Morgan mine in Central Queensland was the source of wealth that funded the beginnings of what became BP (LSE:BP,NYSE:BP).

Unlike other large states in Australia, Queensland benefits from transportation links, deep ports and population centres up and down its coastline, with roads and rail linking areas of interest to export markets throughout and adding to its appeal as a mining jurisdiction.

Read on to learn about some of the largest Queensland-focused gold companies by market cap. Data for this article was gathered on June 30, 2022, from TradingView's stock screener.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Ryan Sero, currently hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.