Evolution Mining (AU:EVN) executive chairman Jake Klein said Australia had "plenty more ounces" to be found, the country had no "industry-wide existential threat" and there were compelling reasons to invest in gold from Brexit to North Korean tensions and increasing resource nationalism.
"I believe this is a significant opportunity for the Australian gold sector," he told a WA Mining Club lunch in Perth yesterday.
"We're potentially in the next phase in the renaissance of the Australian gold sector.
"There's certainly an opportunity for the sector to have leading margins … and there are plenty more ounces to be discovered at low cost."
Evolution set a quarterly production record in September of 220,971oz of gold production at an all-in sustaining cost of A$786/oz (US$620/oz).
Klein said the industry must retain global competitiveness and grow its relevance.
However, he warned it also faced the risk of being seen as a target, referring to the state government's plan to increase the gold royalty which was thwarted this month.
He said the sector also faced "significant headwinds" to attract new blood when millennials were attracted to the Facebooks and Googles of the world, an issue raised recently in the same forum by diversified miner Independence Group (AU:IGO) boss Peter Bradford.
