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G'day fellow seekers. Am I barking up the wrong tree for WA regulations. As I read it, in WA after getting the required permits it seems to me I have to nominate where I wish to do my prospecting, and then I am allocated this tiny plot of land where I am allowed. Here in Victoria a miners licence allows us to go practically where we want, so long as we follow the rules. I have no idea where I want to go in WA.
Nick
 
Mbasko has laid out where to start your research and YES it can look like a daunting task to those who are new to the WA system. Don't write it off as too hard and not worth the effort. WA is still the premier state where you get a realistic chance of finding some very substantial gold and the effort to navigate the regulations can be very well worth it. First thing you need is a Miners Right and that lasts for life and is very cheep. The gold fields are huge and go from below Kalgoolie...right through the Pilbara and as high as Halls Creek in the Kimberley. There is a lot of actual mining Leases throughout this whole region but there is much more land under exploration lease with huge amounts of gold on them. These leases are what we who prospect over there concentrate on. All these areas are on a grid system similar to our topographic mapping system .and for a fee you can easily get access to quite a large area for not much outlay...use to be 30 bucks for 9 graticule blocks but has gone up to 90 bucks last year...still very cheep and you can camp on the tenements. Probably not the thing for the eastern state prospector who only has a limited time to go over there but for the serious guys who are prepared to spend say 3 months over there don't write off the thought that it would be a waste of time. We have spent the winters of last 12 Years before the pandemic in just the Halls Creek region alone in the Kimberley ....we have spent many seasons in the VIC Golden Triangle....and believe me that WA should never be written off...our gold finds would be literally 10 times what they ever were in VIC and never have we ventured over there without making a substantial profit. In pointing all this out research is your friend but an open mind is just as important as the research...;)....cheers Wal.
 
Mbasko has laid out where to start your research and YES it can look like a daunting task to those who are new to the WA system. Don't write it off as too hard and not worth the effort. WA is still the premier state where you get a realistic chance of finding some very substantial gold and the effort to navigate the regulations can be very well worth it. First thing you need is a Miners Right and that lasts for life and is very cheep. The gold fields are huge and go from below Kalgoolie...right through the Pilbara and as high as Halls Creek in the Kimberley. There is a lot of actual mining Leases throughout this whole region but there is much more land under exploration lease with huge amounts of gold on them. These leases are what we who prospect over there concentrate on. All these areas are on a grid system similar to our topographic mapping system .and for a fee you can easily get access to quite a large area for not much outlay...use to be 30 bucks for 9 graticule blocks but has gone up to 90 bucks last year...still very cheep and you can camp on the tenements. Probably not the thing for the eastern state prospector who only has a limited time to go over there but for the serious guys who are prepared to spend say 3 months over there don't write off the thought that it would be a waste of time. We have spent the winters of last 12 Years before the pandemic in just the Halls Creek region alone in the Kimberley ....we have spent many seasons in the VIC Golden Triangle....and believe me that WA should never be written off...our gold finds would be literally 10 times what they ever were in VIC and never have we ventured over there without making a substantial profit. In pointing all this out research is your friend but an open mind is just as important as the research...;)....cheers Wal.
Hi Wal, and thanks. Yes it is daunting and off-putting all the regulations. We would be limited to two weeks there max, three weeks including the travel there and back, so we might be wasting our time, and money on fuel.
 
Hi Wal, and thanks. Yes it is daunting and off-putting all the regulations. We would be limited to two weeks there max, three weeks including the travel there and back, so we might be wasting our time, and money on fuel.

Can see your dilemma buddy and have to agree with you that the time constraint would not be worth it for a newcomer to the west. I'd stick to the east for now but spend as much of your free time researching for a future longer trip. If ever you need any advice please just ask and I'm sure down the track your best ever gold will come from over in the west.;) Cheers Wal.
 
G'day fellow seekers. Am I barking up the wrong tree for WA regulations. As I read it, in WA after getting the required permits it seems to me I have to nominate where I wish to do my prospecting, and then I am allocated this tiny plot of land where I am allowed. Here in Victoria a miners licence allows us to go practically where we want, so long as we follow the rules. I have no idea where I want to go in WA.
Nick
Hi red, I’m in wa and very new to the game. I never heard of what your asking only if you wanted to prospect on a live lease. I don’t use tengraph I use trilobites. This would be the best app to use. Every time you open it and you have reception it automatically updates leases. We camp on any pending lease or crown land and never had a problem mind you we went out at Easter and in the middle of nowhere one of the Aussie prospectors dropped into our camp. Think he was making sure we knew where we were and as it was a pending lease all was good. Anyway hope my bit helps correct me if I’m of track.
 
Hi red, I’m in wa and very new to the game. I never heard of what your asking only if you wanted to prospect on a live lease. I don’t use tengraph I use trilobites. This would be the best app to use. Every time you open it and you have reception it automatically updates leases. We camp on any pending lease or crown land and never had a problem mind you we went out at Easter and in the middle of nowhere one of the Aussie prospectors dropped into our camp. Think he was making sure we knew where we were and as it was a pending lease all was good. Anyway hope my bit helps correct me if I’m of track.
My first trip to WA was for 1 week...no gold, didn't have a clue what I was doing lol, If your a first timer to WA and for short time best bet is to stick to the blue, pending leases and a good way to find them is get an app on phone or I pad so you can see the pending leases ( blue) and the GPS dot to show where you are. They will be existing gold fields of course and you will find gold if you go slow and low enough, if you think you are going slow your still going too fast. If you have found gold regularly allready you will know what I mean , if you struggle to find gold its because your walking over it.
Think of your first WA trip as a learning trip, after you have done 2 or 3 you will be a gun ( if you go slow enough)
good luck mate ...ps good tip, ask someone in the C/Park to spend a day with you watching your style.
 
One important responsibility that may have been overlooked above, is that wherever you are in outback WA you are almost certainly on land that is actually part of somebody's operating cattle station. Common sense should dictate that gates are closed after passing through them, campsites are left clean and tidy (with all rubbish removed), foraging stock are avoided and as far as possible you stay well away from stock watering places (dams and windmills with water troughs).

As prospectors, it is your responsibility to contact station managers to notify them of your presence on their land. This is more than just a courtesy, it is an important requirement for safe station management. If there's a muster underway, they don't want to stumble on an unexpected campsite in the middle of where they're trying to drive cattle. Stations also undertake shoot-on-sight operations against feral camels (and donkeys), which cause massive damage to fences, gates and stock watering infrastructure. Such use of high-powered rifles could prove tragically deadly to any unexpected prospectors in the vicinity.

The following recent video from Erlistoun Station, north of Laverton, shows what such activities look like from the shooter's perspective - you wouldn't want to be anywhere nearby unannounced when panicked camels are rampaging and bullets are flying:

 
My first trip to WA was for 1 week...no gold, didn't have a clue what I was doing lol, If your a first timer to WA and for short time best bet is to stick to the blue, pending leases and a good way to find them is get an app on phone or I pad so you can see the pending leases ( blue) and the GPS dot to show where you are. They will be existing gold fields of course and you will find gold if you go slow and low enough, if you think you are going slow your still going too fast. If you have found gold regularly allready you will know what I mean , if you struggle to find gold its because your walking over it.
Think of your first WA trip as a learning trip, after you have done 2 or 3 you will be a gun ( if you go slow enough)
good luck mate ...ps good tip, ask someone in the C/Park to spend a day with you watching your style.
Hopefully get back out in couple weeks. Found this spot with no lease on it you think it would be ok😎
 

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Hi red, I’m in wa and very new to the game. I never heard of what your asking only if you wanted to prospect on a live lease. I don’t use tengraph I use trilobites. This would be the best app to use. Every time you open it and you have reception it automatically updates leases. We camp on any pending lease or crown land and never had a problem mind you we went out at Easter and in the middle of nowhere one of the Aussie prospectors dropped into our camp. Think he was making sure we knew where we were and as it was a pending lease all was good. Anyway hope my bit helps correct me if I’m of track.
Pretty sure YOU have to update it, it’s not automatic
 
One important responsibility that may have been overlooked above, is that wherever you are in outback WA you are almost certainly on land that is actually part of somebody's operating cattle station. Common sense should dictate that gates are closed after passing through them, campsites are left clean and tidy (with all rubbish removed), foraging stock are avoided and as far as possible you stay well away from stock watering places (dams and windmills with water troughs).

As prospectors, it is your responsibility to contact station managers to notify them of your presence on their land. This is more than just a courtesy, it is an important requirement for safe station management. If there's a muster underway, they don't want to stumble on an unexpected campsite in the middle of where they're trying to drive cattle. Stations also undertake shoot-on-sight operations against feral camels (and donkeys), which cause massive damage to fences, gates and stock watering infrastructure. Such use of high-powered rifles could prove tragically deadly to any unexpected prospectors in the vicinity.

The following recent video from Erlistoun Station, north of Laverton, shows what such activities look like from the shooter's perspective - you wouldn't want to be anywhere nearby unannounced when panicked camels are rampaging and bullets are flying:


Thanks for that, good shooting. Yeah it's the bull camels that worry me.
 
Hopefully get back out in couple weeks. Found this spot with no lease on it you think it would be ok😎
Like Benny Hill used to say: "Learning all the time!" Thanks heaps. I guess I thought I could come over, get my permit, and wave the magic wand around and go back home with sparkles.
 
Can see your dilemma buddy and have to agree with you that the time constraint would not be worth it for a newcomer to the west. I'd stick to the east for now but spend as much of your free time researching for a future longer trip. If ever you need any advice please just ask and I'm sure down the track your best ever gold will come from over in the west.;) Cheers Wal.
The trouble with Victoria , it's so damn cold. I can work when I'm sweating but I don't function real good in the cold. :)
 
Like Benny Hill used to say: "Learning all the time!" Thanks heaps. I guess I thought I could come over, get my permit, and wave the magic wand around and go back home with sparkles.
We all wish that was the case. All the best with the next expedition, mate.
 

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