Collapsing Finance companies and a plateau in the property boom are fuelling a modern-day gold rush, with small investors flocking to the security of solid gold.

Bullion dealer the New Zealand Mint says its gold trade has increased by 300 per cent in the past six months, a rise in business worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The soaring price of gold has helped - it exceeded US$700 ($1100) an ounce in the past week, and the price is tipped to break the US$1000 mark in the next three years.