Full Time Gold Prospector?
- Thread starter lukelee
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Help Support Prospecting Australia:
More likely, as I've planned for when I retire, reduce your bills to as close to zero as you can!
Redfin said:
Thought long and hard about stating that but thought the moderators would ban me for speaking the truth.
to tell the truth you only said what a lot of us think :Y: :Y:
however in saying that and giving the benefit of the doubt some may have casual/part time jobs so get more time then others to do this hobby
however in saying that and giving the benefit of the doubt some may have casual/part time jobs so get more time then others to do this hobby
Needs to be said though.
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cairnspom said:
I'm slogging away to achieve just as you say :Y:
madtuna
Only owns one toaster
Fellas, I know a fair few prospectors who's sole source of income is from the gold they find, no dole, no pension, no benefit at all.
Just because someone is a fulltime prospector doesn't automatically make them some sort of benefit cheat.
An educated guess would say possibly some envy creeping in?
Just because someone is a fulltime prospector doesn't automatically make them some sort of benefit cheat.
An educated guess would say possibly some envy creeping in?
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madtuna said:
Not at all, self funded retiree here. I own all the properties I have outright and have no debts or credit cards.
I would presume there are many over west, that survive on prospecting alone, but not in the GT or NSW.
Simple fact is there is very little work in the GT and a lot of unemployment.
You can't live of finding .05 of a gram in a pan three times a week.
I'm not judging these people, the question got put and I answered it.
I know of one who is on the dole and charges a hefty fee for training days, apart from his UTube income.
Not my business, I'm not a dog.
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I think it's fair to say that plenty of people are scamming the system...not just prospectors!!
Centrelink went through a heap of prospector around Kal about ten years back. One of the fellas I know that was 'caught up in it'
was pissed off and having a right old whinge.....he had found a 200oz patch about 6 months before....go figure that logic out.
Centrelink went through a heap of prospector around Kal about ten years back. One of the fellas I know that was 'caught up in it'
was pissed off and having a right old whinge.....he had found a 200oz patch about 6 months before....go figure that logic out.
madtuna
Only owns one toaster
Yep, I know a fair few who rort the system also, inavlid pensions - can't work due to bad back but can walk for miles and dig holes all day.
But what I'm getting at is there are four named in this thread and it's been insinuated that they are rorting the system or on some sort of benefit. Atleast that's how I take it, please correct me if I've read it wrong.
They may well be but.... they are not here to say yes or no and I find that a bit unfair.
But what I'm getting at is there are four named in this thread and it's been insinuated that they are rorting the system or on some sort of benefit. Atleast that's how I take it, please correct me if I've read it wrong.
They may well be but.... they are not here to say yes or no and I find that a bit unfair.
it saddens me to see the "brotherhood" turn on it self. I have learnt so much from the questions and answeres each and everyone has supplied or given in this forum . I,m not sure why we needed to go down the track of insinuating welfare rorts.
Cheers Crushed
Cheers Crushed
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.. full-time prospecting in VIC, your dreaming
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Crushed said:
I didn't pick up on people here being accused....don't know them and don't care. Like I said....lot's doing it...in all walks of life.
As for the 'brotherhood'...your dreaming mate...there isn't one.....prospectors and detector operators as a broad sweeping statement (which is dangerous at the best of times) would be the greediest, most desperate group of people I have ever come across. Probably no different than every other group...sort of why I don't really like people!!!
Any more insinuations and naming of members will receive a short holiday.
7.62marksman said:
Sorry to wade in on this , Ive been lucky to worked full time for 34years , and made clever investments, Now retired at the age of 50, and walk ever second day, I still pay my Bloody Yax. While walk is to keep my mind busy., loosing weight, dont smoke when Im walking, Only back at the car, unless Foz wants me to dig a meter hole from a false signal. I have a house in Ballarat and one in Philippines, i own a bar there and a small business here in Australia, that doesnt require me to do anything. Yes I have kids that keeps asking Daddy-Bank for money, Thats the way it goes. karara qld was very good to me. Ive waiting for another couple of years to take out a mining claim
G
Guest
Gday
I prospected semi professionally for quite a few years, now just do it for a hobby, its a hard game and very few people survive on their finds alone, for a start things are quite different these days than they have been in the past, the main issue being its harder to find areas that have not been flogged already by every man and his dog, and you cant just wander and detect wherever you want to, there are many rules and regulations and you have to know your way around applying for permits and getting permission to detect legally if you want to do it the right way or you will have to spend most of your time looking over your shoulder.
The game is a gamble and comes with its highs and lows, if you are spending your time just trying to suck up bread and butter gold from flogged areas then you will get a bit of gold but your chances of a substantial find is very remote, you may even find enough to top up here and there but not enough to give you the nest egg you will need behind you for the tough times, if you spend your time on new ground patch hunting then it can be more lucrative if you walk on to a decent patch but you can also spend a lot of time with nothing found so you have to have some money behind you to survive between the finds.
There are several ways that will make it easier, one is if you have a pension coming in that will feed you and cover your basic expenses, or you have a part time job and then detect the rest of the time, or you have a good bit of cash behind you to keep you afloat in the lean times, but even with that you have to be able to top it up with finds otherwise it can run out quicker than you think, you will have to get used to living on the cheap by bush camping whenever you can and taking care of your gear yourself, any breakdown of your vehicle or detecting gear can leave you broke or without a means to get the gold you need.
Unless you are tin ass lucky (like some people I have known) you will have to put in long hours on the ground to get any gold at all, its not for the lazy that's for sure, and really not for the inexperienced either who would find it very difficult indeed, you also have to remember the elements as well, the heat ,the cold and wet, as there will be times when its impossible to detect due to one or the other, I have seen it rain for days on end when camped in the bush, so you cant move for fear of getting stuck and you cant detect either because the place is a mess, I have been out when its been in the high forties for days on end, you cant sleep, you cant stop yourself from drinking fluids, that makes you feel like crap, and once again its simply too hot to spend a lot of time detecting unless you do a night shift or just mornings and evenings, so basically apart from those times the other hours are wasted.
In short if you have to think in terms of being financially independent, self reliant, frugal, and being able to tough it out when everything turns to crap, all things standing its a good lifestyle for some and you can not deny that the freedom to do as you choose and live how you want is the icing on the cake, the further away from the crap of the cities and towns I am the better I feel and don't mind being on my own, some people don't like being on their own in the bush so finding a like minded partner is probably the way to go, its always good to have others about in case of injury or just for safety as there are dropkicks about as well.
cheers
stayyerAU
I prospected semi professionally for quite a few years, now just do it for a hobby, its a hard game and very few people survive on their finds alone, for a start things are quite different these days than they have been in the past, the main issue being its harder to find areas that have not been flogged already by every man and his dog, and you cant just wander and detect wherever you want to, there are many rules and regulations and you have to know your way around applying for permits and getting permission to detect legally if you want to do it the right way or you will have to spend most of your time looking over your shoulder.
The game is a gamble and comes with its highs and lows, if you are spending your time just trying to suck up bread and butter gold from flogged areas then you will get a bit of gold but your chances of a substantial find is very remote, you may even find enough to top up here and there but not enough to give you the nest egg you will need behind you for the tough times, if you spend your time on new ground patch hunting then it can be more lucrative if you walk on to a decent patch but you can also spend a lot of time with nothing found so you have to have some money behind you to survive between the finds.
There are several ways that will make it easier, one is if you have a pension coming in that will feed you and cover your basic expenses, or you have a part time job and then detect the rest of the time, or you have a good bit of cash behind you to keep you afloat in the lean times, but even with that you have to be able to top it up with finds otherwise it can run out quicker than you think, you will have to get used to living on the cheap by bush camping whenever you can and taking care of your gear yourself, any breakdown of your vehicle or detecting gear can leave you broke or without a means to get the gold you need.
Unless you are tin ass lucky (like some people I have known) you will have to put in long hours on the ground to get any gold at all, its not for the lazy that's for sure, and really not for the inexperienced either who would find it very difficult indeed, you also have to remember the elements as well, the heat ,the cold and wet, as there will be times when its impossible to detect due to one or the other, I have seen it rain for days on end when camped in the bush, so you cant move for fear of getting stuck and you cant detect either because the place is a mess, I have been out when its been in the high forties for days on end, you cant sleep, you cant stop yourself from drinking fluids, that makes you feel like crap, and once again its simply too hot to spend a lot of time detecting unless you do a night shift or just mornings and evenings, so basically apart from those times the other hours are wasted.
In short if you have to think in terms of being financially independent, self reliant, frugal, and being able to tough it out when everything turns to crap, all things standing its a good lifestyle for some and you can not deny that the freedom to do as you choose and live how you want is the icing on the cake, the further away from the crap of the cities and towns I am the better I feel and don't mind being on my own, some people don't like being on their own in the bush so finding a like minded partner is probably the way to go, its always good to have others about in case of injury or just for safety as there are dropkicks about as well.
cheers
stayyerAU
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