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Dreaming of a pile of silver: Gold Coast Gold

While the Gold Coast Gold Conference holds a close focus on the gold market for investors, a common theme popping up in the first panel discussion of day one is the growing silver market.

Hosted at the QT Hotel in Surfers Paradise, Queensland for the two-day event, Mining.com.au Executive Producer Shae Russell chaired the initial panel discussion, talking about all things precious metals and how to invest.

Liberty Bullion Founder Sam Lawrie states that this precious metals bull rush the market is currently facing is “only just getting started” for silver.

“In a bull rush, gold leads the first half, while silver plays catch up and leads the second half,” Lawrie shares with the audience.

When panel chair Russell questioned Ainslie Director Paul Engeman about where he sits in relation to silver, Engeman highlighted the growing demand for the commodity.

“I wish I sat on a massive pile of it,” Engeman told Russell.

“There’s a sticky, massive demand [for silver] in the sixth year of the deficit.”

To date, Trading Economics reports the price of silver at US$73.28 ($112.22) per ounce, marking a 117.80% increase for the precious metal for this year over year.

Other guest panelists featured in the discussion include Noah Rule’s Managing Director Sean Russo, Alto Capital Investment Manager Tony Locantro, and Barton Gold (ASX:BGD) CEO Alex Scanlon.

Alto’s Locantro is invested in silver himself, with his own silver bar. He recommends investors to go all in on junior, underdeveloped silver explorers.

Mining.com.au’s Executive Producer Russell closed the conversation asking the panellists if they would rather invest in gold or silver over the next 12 months, to which Lawrie, Engeman, and Locantro responded with the latter, while Russo and Scanlon stuck to the conference’s main focus by choosing gold.

The Gold Coast Gold Conference is being held from 25-26 March 2026 at the QT Hotel in Surfers Paradise.

Mining.com.au is a media partner for the Gold Coast Gold Conference and will be in attendance over both days.

Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au

Images: Mining.com.au

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Written By Maddison Elliott
Maddison holds a Bachelor of Communication and Journalism, a Bachelor of Business, and a Master of Writing, Editing and Publishing. She enjoys transforming complex information into clear, engaging stories that inform, educate, and connect with readers. Outside of the newsroom, Maddison spends her time reading, exploring new places, catching a game, or spending time with friends and family.