The Goldfields Mining Centre is a well-known visitor attraction on the main road to Queenstown. The site is 25 hectares in size spread-out along the banks of the Kawarau River in its spectacular gorge.
As the main demonstration site for gold mining, Goldfields depicts a wide range of machinery and mining techniques to show how the early miners extracted gold from this rich field. The extraordinary stamper battery linked to the goldmine; the California sluice guns and numerous examples of hand operated tools combine to provide a complete picture of goldmining as it was carried out in Southern New Zealand.
And there is still gold to be found. It is estimated that less than a third of the gold has been taken from the site. While commercial mining is no longer permitted, the Centre is licensed for gold fossicking and many visitors find and take home with them gold they have found in the virgin soils.
