News: The new gold rush

Elisa Moolecherry: Hello and welcome to the Business Spotlight podcast for the 24th of January 2012. I’m Elisa Moolecherry.

Elisa Moolecherry: Today we’ll take you to Australia, where prospecting for gold is currently attracting lots of people. “Prospecting” is the search for minerals by using equipment such as gold pans and digging tools, but also metal detectors. And while prospectors are looking for wealth, companies that sell mining supplies are also making money! As you’ll hear, some prospectors are getting lucky, and finding gold. By the way, a piece of gold is called a “nugget”.

As you listen, try to answer the following question.

+ Why does gold prospecting appeal to city people?

OK? First, just listen.

The new gold rush:
As the stock market and international currency values continue to fluctuate in the wake of the global financial crisis, one literally solid investment appears to be gold: record-high prices of nearly $2,000 an ounce have sparked a new interest in exploring for the precious metal, particularly in Australia, which is one of the world’s largest gold producers.

These days, prospecting for gold appeals to city people in particular, who are looking for adventure, as well as wealth. Their numbers are helping to breathe new life into the economies of small gold-mining towns in the outback.

“People have never been really game enough to let go of the security of their job and their home,” explains Kim Ellis, one of the proprietors of Nuggets from Down Under, a 
mining-supply shop. “But what I’m seeing is lifestyle change and that [prospecting] is something where you can make money,” Ellis told the International Herald Tribune. Former defence contractor Brian Dumesny is one of the new prospectors: “Ever since I was a young boy I did a little bit of panning and such, just messing around, but I guess the price of gold has increased so much that it’s become so much more viable.” Dumesny says the last nugget he found weighed 8.8 grams: “Four or five years ago, that was worth only a hundred bucks, and now it’s worth over 300 dollars.”

+ Did you get the answer to our question? Why does gold prospecting appeal to city people?

The answer? They want adventure and wealth.

Listen.

“These days, prospecting for gold appeals to city people in particular, who are looking for adventure, as well as wealth.”

Elisa Moolecherry: For a weatlh of vocabulary and exercises, turn to Business Spotlight magazine — it’s worth its weight in gold!. For information on our magazine and other products, visit our website, at www.business-spotlight.de. There you’ll also find short news items on current events. We hope you’ve enjoyed our podcast. 

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