Waihi isn’t a complete hole, but it’s in danger of becoming one. This isn’t meant in the derogatory sense. Where most towns have hole-in-the-wall ATMs for people to access their riches, Waihi’s main street has a giant open-cast gold mine. They’ve been dragging gold and silver out of Martha Mine, NZ’s richest, since 1878. The town formed quickly and blinged itself up with grand buildings and a show-offy avenue of phoenix palms, now magnificently mature.
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After closing down in 1952, open-cast mining restarted in 1988. The mine is still productive, but only just – it takes a tonne of rock to yield 3g to 6g of gold. It’s expected to run out soon, and when it does, plans are afoot to convert the town’s gaping wound into a major tourist attraction.
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