Just an anecdote,
In a past life i was in a bendigo mine rescue unit. I remember talking to a geologist at Bendigo mining.
He said that with the drill results you would have got in the original bendigo gold fields using modern day techniques you wouldn't bother with starting up a mine.
The gold from bendigo and to a lesser extent ballarat built melbourne.
Nothing to do with todays situation but i thought of that story.