Drilling company says 'exciting time' as gold and exploration hit highs

A gold rush is being reflected in figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) that show $1.57 billion spent on exploration in Western Australia alone.

It comes after the Australian dollar gold price hit an all-time high of $7,688/oz in January. Earlier today it was trading at $6,236/oz.

The figure represents a decent increase on the 24/25 financial year of $1.03 billion.

In WA's gold heartland, one drilling company in particular is experiencing "unprecedented demand" amid an ongoing boom in mineral exploration.

The fortunes of the Kalgoorlie-based Topdrill have risen alongside metal prices and today it ranks among Australia's biggest drilling contractors, with more than 550 workers on its payroll.

Founder Tim Topham, who started 20 years ago with a single drill rig and two employees, is set to take delivery of a 43rd drill rig in coming weeks.

"We're seeing the flow-on effects of Trump's behaviours and the gold price boom — it's something that's very real," he said.

"I hate the word 'boom', but this period of buoyancy has been really elevated. It's a pretty exciting time."

Working through holidays

The ABS data shows the bulk of Australia's investment in mineral exploration is being directed towards gold, with $1.93 billion out of a total of $4.27 billion dedicated to the search in the 2025-26 financial year.

In WA gold represented $1.57 billion of its total $2.99 billion spend on mineral exploration, including a record $461.1 million spent on exploration in the June quarter.

Mr Topham said gold exploration accounted for 95 per cent of Topdrill's workload.

"This is a period of unprecedented demand," he said.

"Historically there would be no work over the Christmas period and you would start to wind back into it by about February.

"The last two to three years we've seen a total change in that behaviour, so now we're drilling right through Christmas and New Year."

Impact of tax changes

While the expenditure figures show exploration is booming, the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) is concerned about proposed reforms to capital gains tax.

AMEC chief executive Warren Pearce said the federal government's changes would see more investment flow overseas and greenfields exploration in Australia "dry up".

He said the sector relied heavily on retail investors and that when companies needed to raise capital again the investors would not be there.

Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King said the government had invested heavily in Geoscience Australia and critical minerals.

"I would say no government in Australia has ever done more for the resources sector … I think exploration is in a very good space in Australia," she said.

When times are tough

Exploration is booming now, but business owners such as Mr Topham have one eye on the present and the other on the horizon.

In the past, Topdrill has agreed to work for shares instead of cash under what are known as drilling-for-equity arrangements.

It can be incredibly lucrative if a discovery is made, but that is not the only reason Topdrill will accept shares in a company instead of cash.

"It's a tool we've engaged with to keep our rigs busy when the market has changed," Mr Topham said.

"The traditional model is to lay staff off in those tougher times, so drilling-for-equity has been an important to keep the rigs spinning and we've been involved in some great discoveries through that initiative."