"I've never seen anything like it," the boss of leading gold producer Ramelius Resources told the Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum on Tuesday. "In the engineering space, they (workers) are very sought after" across the industry, Mr Zeptner said. "As the world order is changing, it is positive for the mining industry," the head of Evolution Mining Lawrie Conway said. "So that is good for gold," Mr Conway said. The gold price is trading about 20 per cent above where it was during the 2025 forum.