A man will answer charges he unlawfully obtained more than half a tonne of gold ore in Western Australia’s Goldfields region on October 4.
The WA Police Force claims its gold stealing detection unit seized 598 kg of suspected gold concentrate in March 2018 at the 48-year-old’s home in Williamstown, 3km east of the Kalgoorlie CBD.
Stored in 20 buckets
Detectives claim the ore was stored in a total of 20 buckets and further testing of the material confirmed it was indeed high grade gold concentrate, suggesting it was removed from a commercial gold mine.
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Concentrate valued at $37K
Officers charged him with possessing stolen or unlawfully obtained property and he was due to face Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court again later in the week.
According to officers, the concentrate was estimated to be worth $30,000 in 2018 and its value has since increased by 25 per cent to $37,500.
Anyone with information is urged to contact WA police by phoning 08 9351 0699 or visiting police.wa.gov.au/Police-Direct
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