"In 1926, the last Maldon gold mine closed ...."

Part of the charm of Maldon is that, in an architectural sense, it remains largely frozen in time at around the end of the 19th. century. The demise of the mining industry, ending with the closure of the North British mine in 1926, is the commonly given reason for this situation.

The photo shows the Alliance mine in 1896.

Mining may have stopped in the 1920's, but there was still plenty of gold left. According to one local, "There's more gold left in the ground than was ever taken out." And he is certainly not alone in holding this view.

There are many facts that support this belief. For example, the South German mine did not close because the gold ran out; it was still in full production when it flooded. Today, water continues to flow out of the mine and into the South German dam.

The area under the railway yards was never mined because the authorities feared that the ground might give way under the weight of the trains. This region lies between the rich Beehive & Alliance mines, and is expected to be just as rich.

The fabulous Nuggetty mine yielded around 9 tonnes of gold before the reef was cut off by a fault in the earth's strata. The continuation of the reef has never been located.

The "last" gold mine may have closed in 1926, but more mining took place later in the 20th. century. In the 1970s & '80s, at Union Hill, $25,000,000 (25 million dollars!) worth of gold was extracted.

Over the years, Maldon has yielded untold riches. "Untold" because much gold was never accounted for in official tallies. If there is as much gold left as was ever taken out, Maldon is sitting on a fortune. A fortune the size of which can only be imagined.