WA tenements

grubstake said:

There's a lot more to it than the availability of ground for travellers to prospect, mate:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/p...alia-murchison-remote-outback-towns/104218538

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As the article indicates the dependency on gold miners for their survival where fly in fly out is the hall mark of the industry means little is returned to these country towns which puts more importance on the tourist gold prospector for their survival. With most of the land tied up by the big miners sitting there limiting access to those part timers the word is slowly becoming, "why spend for little return?" Where decades ago those tourist prospectors were exited about their prospects on my recent trips the feedback is doom and gloom. When these country towns lose that tourist dollar the gradual decay will escalate. It rests with government to act to support these once great mining towns such as those mentioned in the article you post.

Sure a few of us do okay but I'm not talking about those of us who live in WA and have the knowledge. We contribute little to the towns. It is the causal interstate tourist that spends the money to keep these towns viable. Loss of that business will be their downfall.

Rainbowgold said:

Beinf out bush I've allways love,I don't stay in caravans like most ppl,4 months of detecting and only one place had ppl their,I got way out of towns,I do the hard yards.iam proud of myself for not having to rely on anyone for any tips on where to go,done this whole trip alone.and yes have found gold in one area in wa.it took 5 days to drive from Qld and did the round trip from Kalgoorlie up to marble bar Tom price,couldn't get in anywhere their,the pastoralist has signs on their gates warnings keep out.Just put a complaint in,they can't stop you from going in and detecting pending ground.I Will be putting 1 complaint in when I get home.

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Good on you RBG for pursuing your passion, as long as you have some form of communication with you then you will be just fine. just a UHF can be critical communication device to have on you at all times. it is amazing just how many mining companies and contractors that are about and the best way to know that is to just head up to a high point in your area of detecting and listen, you might amaze and be reassuring for you.

Don't be put down on one bad road trip hang in there stay safe and just keep researching to me it the most important for any road trip or detecting in remote places in Australia.

Not all pe

Detrack said:

Hi Rainbowgold

All I see is there was a shit load of Pending EL this year, I was putting my hair out as there was so many places I wanted to get too. Then you have all the other Pending ML, PL

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Allan Harvey said:

I believe your question is justified. I have been prospecting around WA for more than 2 decades but have become very alarmed at how much ground is being tied up by big businesses across the state. The rules or laws require urgent revision and review. Going back to the 1980's and 1990's the state businesses in country areas made a lir of money from interstate prospectors. Today, however those interstate travellers are becoming few and far between simply because the word has got out how little ground there is left for the travelling prospector. If our government was on the ball they would be investigating the towing up of ground by big business and well off miners who are taking up ground for the simple reason of denying the weekend and travelling prospector access.

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Exactly spot on,all the best ground has been taken up by the mines,Most of the Pending are useless,theirs the odd one if your lucky you might find gold,I reckon the mines are taking out all these leases and hoping interstaters pay the 40E permit,because so far I've noticed theirs no mining being done on the live tenements as I was driving through.They have them sit their hoping someone pays lol it's a joke allright.its not cheap for us with all the expenses,plus risking damage to your vehicle.

Detrack said:

Good on you RBG for pursuing your passion, as long as you have some form of communication with you then you will be just fine. just a UHF can be critical communication device to have on you at all times. it is amazing just how many mining companies and contractors that are about and the best way to know that is to just head up to a high point in your area of detecting and listen, you might amaze and be reassuring for you.

Don't be put down on one bad road trip hang in there stay safe and just keep researching to me it the most important for any road trip or detecting in remote places in Australia.

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Thank you Detrack for your assurance,I have this little 3 way gps I've had now for 13 years,it's been a life saver I nearly got lost 3 times I have it with me all times,also a handheld 10klm walki talki.Have done 10 years of prospecting and still have the gold fever lol.And i was taught from the best,he was a fantastic trainer and learnt all safety measures when out bush.One thing for sure I never get scared or lonely it's the ppl you got to watch for lol,not the Animals being sensible and alert all the time helps.

grubstake said:

Oh they're real enough, but as their services are funded by the gold mining industry, it'd be a fair guess that most of their energy is directed towards theft from minesites, as that's where the major quantity of gold is dug up, processed, extracted and poured. But if a mining company complains about unauthorised detectorists on their lease areas, I think they'd come down on them like a ton of bricks.

It should be remembered that the Gold Squad are all full-time WA police officers, so while they're out and about, they'll also be looking for stolen property, firearms and ammo, drugs, unregistered/unroadworthy vehicles, wildlife poaching, etc. Cowboys who don't think they're real could be in for an unwelcome surprise some day.

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I was wondering does the gold police use Drones?I was At mt Morgan and one night their was 3 Drones in a row about 50 metres in front of me passing.what an unusual night that was,i also heard gun shots,I could see car lights in the distance,and also have come across gun shots at this other place on a pl,I was in my truck at the time when suddenly i heard a quick whoosh that sounded like a bullet,iam so glad i wasn't detecting...

Detrack said:

Dave, agree with you but very disappointing when you are on a 40e and you notice many others there and pass the info onto the mining company and they say they have no permit, then they make statements they will send someone out there and notify the GOLD POLICE and no one turns up. While you spend weeks out there and just look at all their unfilled holes. you wonder why bother raising it.

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I know what you mean, I've struck people detecting some of the live leases I've been on and they have the nerve to park right next to where I'm working and get their gear out and away they go, it's bloody rude and I would imagine that because of the way some people operate, they probably don't have permission to prospect there.

Rainbowgold said:

I was wondering does the gold police use Drones?I was At mt Morgan and one night their was 3 Drones in a row about 50 metres in front of me passing.what an unusual night that was,i also heard gun shots,I could see car lights in the distance,and also have come across gun shots at this other place on a pl,I was in my truck at the time when suddenly i heard a quick whoosh that sounded like a bullet,iam so glad i wasn't detecting...

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I have no idea about drone usage and as for nearby gun shots...! Did it make you feel paranoid?

I am still in W.A. after 3 1/2 months detecting, and prior to departing I wrote to several large mining companies requesting their permission to detect on their particular mining leases I wished to access, stating how many people and vehicles/rego numbers, names and dates, and all responded with a form which when completed and accepted by them allowed us to detect with their permission.

Phil

Prior to detecting in W.A. this year I wrote to several mining companies seeking permission to detect on some of their mining leases, and all responded with a form to be completed requiring the number of detectorists, vehicles with rego, dates and specific leases, all of which were approved, and access granted.

Phil

lkyphl said:

I am still in W.A. after 3 1/2 months detecting, and prior to departing I wrote to several large mining companies requesting their permission to detect on their particular mining leases I wished to access, stating how many people and vehicles/rego numbers, names and dates, and all responded with a form which when completed and accepted by them allowed us to detect with their permission.

Phil

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Oh ok,I thought you had to pay for a 40E from them.well it's a thought thank you Ikyphil

grubstake said:

I have no idea about drone usage and as for nearby gun shots...! Did it make you feel paranoid?

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It sure did,never in my life a bullet come that close,I'll never forget the sound,what I did is grab my ph ready for him to come pass,he creeped pass and I than heard him say to a passenger.....well I didn't know....I have video.

I have had only one experience with a WA Government Mines Inspector and it would be hard to find a more interested and helpful chap. When he found that I was operating legally and had all required paperwork he called back day after day to see how I was going. We were panning in a dry creek bed and I asked him if I could use a small recirculating sluice box powered by a solar panel bilge pump. He went away and found a spot from which he could get mobile phone comms and rang his boss in Karatha who referred him to the chief mining warden in Perth who said that he was not worried about such a small operation and gave me permission to operate the sluice. That same inspector was a holy terror on illegal operators and was regarded with fear and loathing by many fossickers but those off us who did the right thing could not fault him. After he got me permission to run the sluice box he came back time after time to see how I was going and got quite excited when he found that the results were approaching commercial quantities.
Actually three lease holders asked us to prospect certain areas for them to see if they were worth exploiting. On one area we found small traces of gold everywhere in quantities too small to justify working with pans but when the lease holder put on two men with a front end loader and a 15 tonne truck they collected 54 ounces of gold in three weeks. After that we had no trouble in getting permission to work on claims provided we reported everything we found to the lease holders. Sometimes we found that areas were not productive and that too was useful information.
We were not always on such good terms with the lease holders but after about 20 years of turning up in the dry season for thee to four months of panning we became accepted as virtual locals which gave us entree to hundreds of square km of gold-bearing country in the East Kimberley and Yes, even in that remote locality, the Mining Inspectors were very active.

Rainbowgold said:

Beinf out bush I've allways love,I don't stay in caravans like most ppl,4 months of detecting and only one place had ppl their,I got way out of towns,I do the hard yards.iam proud of myself for not having to rely on anyone for any tips on where to go,done this whole trip alone.and yes have found gold in one area in wa.it took 5 days to drive from Qld and did the round trip from Kalgoorlie up to marble bar Tom price,couldn't get in anywhere their,the pastoralist has signs on their gates warnings keep out.Just put a complaint in,they can't stop you from going in and detecting pending ground.I Will be putting 1 complaint in when I get home.

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Did you contact the pastoralist or did you just take it for granted that permission is denied?