Dale Hanning is one of many people hoping to strike it rich in the Goldfields of Western Australia.

She's been searching the soil for gold for more than 25 years.

"To get out in the bush and find that big nugget, like everyone wants to, it's just a real stress relief," she said.

There's never been a better time to be a prospector, with the price of gold setting new benchmarks almost every day.

"My thing is dig everything because you never know, that big nugget could be the one!" Ms Hanning exclaims.

Dale Hanning has found about 20 ounces of gold since she began prospecting. ( ABC News: Rachel Pupazzoni )

It's not just hobby detectors like Ms Hanning looking for their fortunes.

The operators of Australia's newest gold mine at Gruyere, 1,100 kilometres east of Perth, hope to mine more than 3 million ounces of gold during the next decade.

"There was a downturn in the gold industry about five or six years ago and a lot of people had given up exploration," explained Gold Fields executive vice president of operations, Stuart Matthews.

But the industry is in the midst of a turnaround.

"We're looking to average between 270 and 300,000 ounces per annum over 12 years. But we foresee we'll go a lot longer than that as well," Mr Matthews said.

The Gruyere mine poured its first gold in the middle of this year. ( Supplied: Gold Road Resources )

Once the richest square mile on earth

Underground workers at Perseverance Gold Mine during the gold rush. The mine was one of the richest in The Golden Mile and later became part of what is now the Super Pit. ( Supplied: Western Australian Museum )

Kalgoorlie was put on the map in 1893 when Paddy Hannan found gold at Mt Charlotte.

That discovery would lead to The Golden Mile, which at the time was the richest square mile on earth.

Thousands of people flooded the area at the turn of the last century.

Kalgoorlie's Hannan Street in 1908. It was named after Paddy Hannan, the man who set off the gold rush. ( Supplied: Western Australian Museum )

"It was huge," said local historian Tim Moore.

"What you see outside, that's all built between 1895 and 1910 and 1911. Burt Street and Hannan Street are almost original."

The Boulder Town Hall was the smaller of two town halls built in Kalgoorlie in 1908. The interior has never been repainted and remains exactly is it was in the gold rush. ( ABC News: Rachel Pupazzoni )

'We should be busting at the seams'

While gold is glittering again, not everyone in mining towns like Kalgoorlie is cashing in.

"Mining is bigger than ever," said Kalgoorlie-Boulder Mayor John Bowler.

"We really should be booming, busting at the seams."

But with the increase in the number of fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) workers now servicing gold mines, those skilled workers aren't living in mining towns and cities like Kalgoorlie anymore.

"The model for FIFO occurred in the late 1980s," explained Duncan Gibbs, chief executive of Gold Road Resources — the other company in the Gruyere joint venture gold mine.

"Gruyere is very remote, we're 1,000 kilometres from Kalgoorlie by road. It's clearly not in a location that you could run a residential workforce."

Hairdresser Anne Marie Ryan says FIFO workers from Perth means there aren't as many mine workers and their families living in Kalgoorlie anymore. ( ABC News: Rachel Pupazzoni )

Kalgoorlie businesses say they're missing out on wealth that could be part of the local economy.

"The one thing we have noticed is with FIFO, there are not as many families that come into town and that affects us as a community," explained local hairdresser Anne-Marie Ryan.

"We need those families to come here and build those community building blocks that keeps us going and our economy going."

It's a similar concern a couple of clicks down the road at the Beaten Track Brewery.

"When things are bad people drink, when things are great people drink," says Mitch Dudarko, who's concerned about the impact of FIFO workers on Kalgoorlie. ( ABC News: John Gunn )

"I'm not terribly fond of the FIFO setup," said owner Mitch Dudarko.

"It takes money out of the region and there are skilled people in the region that could potentially fill those positions."

Brewery regular and owner of the Chunky Timber Co, Kim "Chunky" Gent agrees.

"There's no sense people living in Sydney and Melbourne. The country towns all through NSW, Queensland and WA need the support, they need the people back into them."

Kim "Chunky" Gent wants more mine workers to live in Kalgoorlie. ( ABC News: John Gunn )

The cautionary tale of 'tranquil' Broad Arrow

A 40km drive north of Kalgoorlie on the Goldfields Highway is Broad Arrow.

The once bustling gold rush town had a population of 15,000 people with pubs, schools, supermarkets and a hospital in 1900.

Now all that remains are four people and the local pub.

The Broad Arrow Tavern was built in 1896. ( ABC News: Rachel Pupazzoni )

Broad Arrow Tavern manager Judi Pinner likes it that way.

"I just love being out here. It's very tranquil," she said.

But the quiet isn't always great news.

"I've seen ups and downs on the goldfields. When I was little it felt like we were rich."

The pursuit of those riches goes on for people like Dale Hanning.

"It's just a buzz," she said. "It's like a mini gold rush again."