A little bit of Mount Rawdon will grace the winner’s circle at ‘the race that stops a nation’ this November, with the 2024 Melbourne Cup trophy crafted with gold from the Queensland mine.

The 18-carat gold Lexus Melbourne Cup weighs 3.8kg and is valued at $600,000, making it one of the most prized trophies in world sport, according to the Victoria Racing Club.

Mount Rawdon operations general manager Ben Young (pictured above with the trophy) said the team was honoured to have the gold for this year’s trophy sourced exclusively from the mine in what was to be its final year of operations.

“As part of this, we recently welcomed Pallion subsidiary and partner ABC Bullion and the Victoria Racing Club to Mount Rawdon to capture footage for the Making of the Cup film for 2024,” he said.

Mr Young said the entire team at Mount Rawdon was excited about the Lexus Melbourne Cup trophy visiting site.

“There was a real sense of pride, camaraderie and reflection amongst team members – young and old – as we embark on concluding mining operations at Mount Rawdon,” he said.

“One of our longstanding employees summed it up perfectly, saying that when he looks at the cup, he knows it’s a job well done.”

The team is hoping to have the Lexus Melbourne Cup visit Mount Rawdon and the nearby community again as part of its tour later in the year.

The Mount Rawdon gold mine, 75km south-west of Bundaberg, has produced more than 2.0 million ounces of gold over the last 22 years.

Owner Evolution Mining is undertaking a feasibility study to convert the site into a large-scale pumped hydro power station at the end of the mine’s life.

You may also like: