The federal government is on notice to lift its game on apprenticeships and training as miners in the Australian goldfields rush to take advantage of high commodity prices.
Demand for labour has been a key issue raised at the annual Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum in the gold capital of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.
While many miners claimed to have high retention rates, all agreed the rise in the number of operators trying to get gold plants online was creating opportunities for workers.
"I've never seen anything like it," the boss of leading gold producer Ramelius Resources told the forum.
"Normally, in one year, you probably get to see two to three gold plants get built," Mark Zeptner said.
"I reckon you can get up to about 10 (in 2026) and there's no way they are all going to get built this year.
"It's unprecedented."
Diggers chair and mining industry veteran Jim Walker said the Labor government needed to do more in the training field to complement the heavy lifting already being done by the WA government.
"The federal government backed off in monies for vocational trade training, but we're just so short of trades," he told AAP.
"Whether they be building trades or mechanical trades, we've got to put a lot more effort into that."
In contrast, the WA Labor government has poured money into TAFE and students are getting state-of-the-art equipment as they prepare for the new age of electrification.
"They are getting ready for what's going to happen," Mr Walker said.
The federal government should reinstate training packages for apprenticeships and trainees to reduce the cost to mining sector employers, he said.
"We can get more because (if we have) incentives for employers to put on an apprentice or trainee," Mr Walker said.
The government is scaling back payments of $5000 for employers who hire apprentices under the priority hiring incentive, including subsidies for large businesses with 200 or more employees.
Some of the mining jobs on offer include engineering and construction, but there's also work for plant fitters, crane operators, and logistics and transport workers.
Mr Walker agreed the demand was being driven by companies trying to cash in on the gold price by going into or restarting production.
"Some of the old gold mines that weren't economical - well, they are now," he said.
The spot price of gold touched an all-time high of $US5,589.38 on January 28 and is now hovering around $US4,000 an ounce.
Executives who spoke with AAP agreed the current price was still very high, while being mindful of financial market expectations it could end the year even higher.
The gold price is also trading about 20 per cent higher than the last forum in August 2025.
And it's also well up from a decade ago, when gold peaked at $US1,366.25.
Alkane Resources chief Nic Earner said the $4,000 level was well above its all-in costs.
"But once you clear that point, every thousand dollars the gold price is up, we're making another $150 million in the year," he said.
The forum ended on Wednesday.
