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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Words and photography by Stuart Walmsley

Fossicking for a fortune: the price of gold is sky-high, and prospectors in Victoria hope to cash in

Alaskan tourists Marilyn and Keith Fye use a metal detector during a prospecting tour run by the Gold Centre in Maryborough, central Victoria
Alaskan tourists Marilyn and Keith Fye take part in a prospecting tour run by the Gold Centre in Maryborough, central Victoria. Photograph: Stuart Walmsley/The Guardian

It’s a Friday morning at the Gold Centre in Maryborough, and the shop feels more like a social club than a place of commerce.

A group who have signed up for a prospecting tour greet each other on the verandah, staff chat with customers seeking advice on various detection devices, and several others have just turned up for a yarn.

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