VICTORIAN treasurer Tim Pallas has taken Victorian gold miners by surprise after imposing a 2.75pc gold royalty on the sector.
Miners say they were not consulted about the increase from zero to 2.75pc, and that it appeared to be a reaction to the renaissance of Victoria’s all but washed out gold industry.
The Kirkland Gold Eagle zone discovery at its Fosterville mine in 2015 kickstarted a wave of investment that had not been seen for decades.
Arete Capital followed Fosterville’s lead and doled out $50m to restart the Stawell goldmine which employed about 200 people, up from only 10 people when Arete acquired it in 2017.
AuStar Gold resumed mining at the Morning Star mine in January, 2019, and recorded record pours in April reporting 6.074kg of ore bullion in nine days.
Minerals Council of Australia Victoria executive director James Sorahan said that the royalties would affect the security of hundreds of jobs in regional communities.
“The Andrews Government has not consulted or listened to regional communities that rely on highly paid, high skilled jobs that mining delivers in Victoria,” he said.
“Despite its own Resources Strategy stating that mining operations are the backbone of many regional towns, providing employment, opportunity and a sense of community, the government has not consulted industry or local communities before announcing this new tax on regional jobs.”
While a gold royalty would be in line with the rest of the nation, bar Tasmania, the 2.75pc rate is significantly higher than the 2.5pc imposed by the country’s largest gold-producing state, WA.
In 2017, the WA government attempted to raise the royalty rate to 3.75pc, but was blocked in the upper house after a strong, united lobbying campaign by big players such as Newcrest, Newmont and Barrick.
