Nearly $1.5 billion was wiped off the value of Australian gold shares on Monday – including $1 billion from the biggest local gold miner Newcrest – after a price crash sparked by the surprise unloading of tonnes of bullion on the Chinese market.

Australian gold miners suffered huge losses in a market that was already suffering a number of stiff headwinds. Evolution Mining lost 14.5 per cent while Northern Star Resources, Regis and Newcrest Mining were all down between 7 and 10 per cent.