So you want to go to the West

The object of this topic is to advise those going over the West some of things they should or should not do.

I went to WA for the first time this year and did a fair amount of research.  Found some gold but others found more.  A lot has to do with luck, research and experience.  If you do the right thing, people will help you, but if you don't they will tell you to get lost somewhere else.  First you have to have a Miners Right so you can apply at any Mines Office or apply by post  Miners Right WA (Click on the link).

APLA Membership. APLA is similar to the PMAV in Victoria but it also covers you for public liability whilst on someones property. As a result it is almost a must so I recommend that you get your membership. In a lot of cases you will not be allowed on property if you do not have membership. For further information click here. http://www.apla.com.au/apla-membership.html

Leases.  You can go to Vic goldfields, hop out the car and go detecting, it is as easy as that.  You do that in WA, they will accuse you of stealing their gold - why? because it is an over regulated state and you have to get permission to detect. You have a mining lease, prospecting lease, exploration lease, a pending lease and a pastural lease.  There is no point in asking a pasturalist if you can detect on their land because they don't own the leases that will allow you do do this.  If it is a pending lease then you can detect there but on the others you have to ask permission.
- The mining lease, most mining company allow you to detect on parts of their lease so ask them.  In most cases you need a miners right and in some cases you need to be a member of APLA (for insurance purposes)
- The prospecting lease, this is an area of ground where a person has paid for exclusive rights to detect on, so if you detect on it without their permission, they will not be very happy (Bloody Victorians!)
- Exploration lease. This is an area which is under general exploration and is where the 40e application is necessary.  This is provided by the Mines Department which shows you the areas you have approval to detect on. Application for a Section 40e.
- Pastural Lease.  This is basically a grazing permit for an area, so if you want to camp somewhere if you let the pasturalist know, he will appreciate it.
- Pending Lease.  This where a lease has been applied for but not completed, consequently you can detect freely on this land until it's control is finalised

So how do you find out which lease is which?  The Department of Mines has an interent site where you can look to find out which leases is which - this is called the Tengraph . Have a look at a map of the area, work out where you want to go then go to Tengraph and find out who has the lease.  You can then apply for the appropriate permission. How to use Tengraph. -  Other Mines Dept Info


Do you need a GPS?  One of the problems with WA is that there is a lot of land over there with nothing to tell you where the boundaries are for leases.  You can try to guess but in most cases you will be wrong. However if you become conversant with a GPS you will know where you are.  You can also advise others in an emergency where you are.  
Which GPS to Buy

Where to go?  Doug Stones Book on Metal Detecting for Gold in Australia will give you a general idea of the areas that have been popular in the past but these have been heavily thrashed.  However the gold is still there, you just have to be smarter.  Oziexplorer is a good internet mapping system so it is worthwhile looking at that.  Anywhere there is a mine then there has to be gold associated with it in the general area.  Anywhere in or close to a Mining lease is recommended.  Nothing beats experience so talk and learn about the areas you want to go to.  There is a load of info on this forum for example.  Keep an open mind and if it looks like a gold area, then have a go.

Vehicles.  A 4wd is the most common vehicle due to the terrain and pulling caravans.  However most tracks when dry are suitable to 2 wheeled vehicles, but in the wet,forget it.  Make sure you take a puncture kit - the plug type and you can change a wheel and also blow it up again.  Also take a range of spares such as lights, snatch strap, and especially some large tape.  We split a water pipe but the tape held it together.  Ask yourself what would you do if....?

Communication. Two ways are a must both held hand and in the car.  When on the highway you will often find yourself behind a large load or one coming towards you.  If you have a radio you will know whats happening.  Channel 40 is the open channel so stay on that when driving.  On mines site they have their own channel so abide by their rules and give them a courtesty call to let them know you are there.  Which UHF Unit?

Mobile Phones.  Have an up to date one as you can often go to the top of a hill and get reception, and keep it charged.  We have also been advised to have sat phones or other location devises which should be considered.

Fuel.  In most towns you can get petrol and diesel but LPG is not always available ie not at Laverton.  The prices can get up to $2 a litre in remote areas as well.

Food.  Kalgoorlie can provide everything you need at reasonable prices - Coles and Woolworths are there.  At Leonora, they have a supermarket but everything starts to get dearer.  In most towns you can get supplies but sometimes they can be in short supply.

Solar Panels.  If you want to go off road then these are a must.  They are free energy and charge your batteries for nothing.  I have three on my caravan roof and as they are charging my batteries everyday, they are great.  If you want 240V, go on Ebay and get a small 150 W inverter.  I bought one for $20 and it is small plug in and works well, even charges the lap top.

At least I have given you something to have a think about and there is a lot more that can be said, they are only my ideas.  However others will also give you good details, but this will give you some of the info for your trip.  

Jeff

Great post Jeff, thanks for taking time out and posting some good info for all

I could never get my head around all the different Leases and who to ask

I guess I'm just use to going anywhere in the Vic goldfields and start swinging!

Thanks Ren...

Very informative post Jeff, thanks for taking the time to pass on the information

Jeff - great post
Excellent info
Hope you enjoyed your trip

Another thanks for your time Jeff in posting those tips, its a different ball game in W.A and agree with the comment about over regulation.

cheers for takin the time writing up that post. Most helpfull

Just a modest addition to Jeffs invaluable info........It's a long way to travel so have your vehicle serviced a month before you leave on your trip.......that way if anything goes wrong ( we all know there is no such thing as the perfect service) it will show up near home.....not on the Nullabor!

Be lucky.

A very good summary of what is needed.
Please be aware that the only mobile network that exists out here is Telstra Next G.
The best setup is a rooftop magnetic aerial plugged into your phone.
Many minesites will have a local repeater for phones if you are in range.

very good post. love the info Jeff it always helps and for the newbies it helps a lot!!!

Being involved with interstate trucking .....

Please don't expect the big rigs to be able to pull up as quickly as you can do ... even pulling a caravan. Their gross tare weight could be anything up to 40T or MORE!!

Whilst truck driver will assist in any practical way that they possibly can where accidents etc are concerned, they are running to very tight time contraints and cannot stop for a few hours of giving assistance. This is not due to 'earning the almighty dollar' ... government regulations have now made it impossible to stop for long ... the Work Diary will not allow the extra hours of time for that driver to reach his destination. He may only drive for a certain number of hours per day ... not like us!! If he is late with his arrival time, he may have to wear penalties, thus putting him out of pocket!

If you are on Channel 40 (the truckies channel) do NOT be offended by the language ... just make sure that the kids in the car cannot hear it ...... it can get pretty 'blue' ... these boys are trying to entertain themselves and alleviate the boredom

Nice post Jeff--- thanks!

Jack

Great post.
If you find yourself driving half way round Australia to the WA goldfields, to finally arrive at your destination and realize that you have left a vital piece of your kit at home eg. battery cable, pick, battery etc. No need to panic. A simple phone call to any detector outlet in WA will solve your problem, they will overnight post whatever it is you need to the post office nearest to you.
One more tip that I think is vital when exploring WA, and that is a GPS. They are easy to use, and one of the most important things to have. But must be used correctly. When you have found an interesting spot to detect, and directly after stopping your vehicle you must enter a waypoint for you vehicle, and you must do this at every new spot. What I generally do is turn on my gps when I arrive at a new spot, enter a new waypoint for my car, save it, and then turn the gps off. I then take my detector and off I go. When the time comes when I want to return to my vehicle, I simply turn on the gps find my car waypoint and head for it. This will save the batteries in your gps. Sure it's easy to carry a spare set of batteries, but this little tip will make your batteries go much much further.
Happy hunting.

Hi I was just reading a old post done in 2012.
I think some people seem to be wrong about the pastoral leases , have read the official booklet for W.A mines and petroleum and also the pastoral lands board documents found on line, I also know some pastoralist .
According to a post or two on this forum it is being stated that the pastoral lease is JUST A GRAZING PERMIT, this is entirely untrue, these people pay millions of dollars to OWN the pastoral leases, they have rights to the entire land that they are in control off, the law is that you must not interfere with any pastoral activities ,you must not use there water points without permission, you must not go near any pastoral infrastructure to gain access, cut there fences take any dogs to a pastoral lease without permission, and most of all fire arms are illegal on pastoral stations without written permission. SOME WILL CALL THE POLICE IF THEY FIND YOU WITH FIREARMS.
I think all prospectors should try to respect the fact that you are on a pastoral lease and pastoral people are the ''legal occupiers of the land''.
WE MUST REMEMBER WE ONLY PAY PITTANCE FOR A MINERS RIGHT,THEY PAY MILLIONS AND THESE PLACES ARE THERE HOMES THEY ARE NOT PUBLIC OPEN SPACE.

austin16 wrote:Hi I was just reading a old post done in 2012.
I think some people seem to be wrong about the pastoral leases , have read the official booklet for W.A mines and petroleum and also the pastoral lands board documents found on line, I also know some pastoralist .
According to a post or two on this forum it is being stated that the pastoral lease is JUST A GRAZING PERMIT, this is entirely untrue, these people pay millions of dollars to OWN the pastoral leases, they have rights to the entire land that they are in control off, the law is that you must not interfere   with any pastoral activities ,you must not use there water points without permission, you must not go near any pastoral infrastructure to gain access, cut there fences take any dogs to a pastoral lease without permission, and most of all fire arms are illegal on pastoral stations without written permission. SOME  WILL CALL THE POLICE IF THEY FIND YOU WITH FIREARMS.
I think all prospectors should try to respect the fact that you are on a pastoral lease and pastoral people are the ''legal occupiers of the land''.
WE MUST REMEMBER WE ONLY PAY PITTANCE FOR A MINERS RIGHT,THEY PAY MILLIONS AND THESE PLACES ARE THERE HOMES THEY ARE NOT PUBLIC OPEN SPACE.

G'day austin16

You are right on some points and wrong on others, a Pastoral Lease is just that, a lease, they may pay big $$$ for the right to graze the grass etc but they only own the grass and an improvements, the GROUND is Crown Land and belongs to basically "everyone"

Check what your WA miners right entitles you to do, things like give the Pastoral Lease holder notice of your intentions to prospect, traverse across, camp, and take water for personal use. A miners right may only cost a pittance but it carries with that the rights that the holder is entitled to.

I agree that miners right holders and pastoralists need to get along as the "GROUND" is not exclusively just for the pastoralist.

cheers dave

Hi Dave ,I have been busy looking at the dept mines and petroleum W.A booklet and then on line, Im sorry to say that it states that the pastoralist are the legal occupiers of the land, and it states that prospectors or others must not interfere with any pastoral activities, i must also add that you are not allowed to take any water unless you have permission from the pastoralist it also states that "'written concent is required from the pastoralist when a prospector wants to conduct any activity including camping near any infrastructure's including water points, stockyards houses and so on, this is on page 8 of the booklet I mentioned earlier,also page 10 has more interesting details that I think people coming to W.A should read before going prospecting on Pastoral lands ,at the end of the day if you do not do the right thing the law is on the pastoralist side, as these places are pastoral stations which do not belong to every one.
Thanks for the chat.

Hi Austin, clause 5 of This brochure from the DMP states that a prospector can take water and camp.

austin16 wrote:Hi Dave ,I have been busy looking at the dept mines and petroleum W.A booklet and then on line, Im sorry to say that it states that the pastoralist are the legal occupiers of the land, and it states that prospectors or others must not interfere with any pastoral activities, i must also add that you are not allowed to take any water unless you have permission from the pastoralist it also states that "'written concent is required from the pastoralist when a prospector wants to conduct any activity including camping near any infrastructure's including water points, stockyards houses and so on, this is on page 8 of the booklet I mentioned earlier,also page 10 has more interesting details that I think people coming to W.A should read before going prospecting on Pastoral lands ,at the end of the day if you do not do the right thing the law is on the pastoralist side, as these places are pastoral stations which do not belong to every one.
Thanks for the chat.

Hi Austin,

Yes the pastoralist is the legal occupier of the land, but he is not the owner.
What he has is a 99 year pastoral lease (most renewed in 2015) over crown land which gives him certain rights as well as certain obligations which he must undertake to retain that lease.

Prospectors have a miners right which give them specific rights on crown land covered by a pastoral lease. It also carries certain obligations, most of which are common sense.

You have the right to go about your detecting or prospecting and camping unhindered and without being harassed by the pastoralist or anyone else.

In general, that is the case. The easiest way to assure this is to do the right thing.
Ring the pastoralist and let him know where you'll be and please respect his wishes. He may be mustering in certain areas or have shooters in.

Know where you are. You are not just dealing with pastoral leases but mining leases, prospecting leases and exploration leases. In reality, you'll probably get more grief from a mining or prospecting lease owner than a pastoral lease owner.

Don't bury your rubbish, take it out with you. What you put into the ground usually makes it to the surface sooner or later. Dogs or people dig it up and the cattle eat it, bones, tins, plastic and cans.
If you see a working well that has a problem or injured stock, or anything that you think is not right, let the pastoralist know. He'd appreciate a call and he'll be indebted to you.

You do have the right to take water and without permission, though not from his personal rain water tank at his homestead.
However you don't have the right to drill holes in the polly pipe running from the mill to the tank to shower under. You don't have the right to turn the water off, nor to pull the polly from the tank and leave it running on the ground or to take the solar panels or solar pump.
Ring the pastoralist, tell him where you plan on staying. He'll tell you where the good water is closest to your camp. He may even offer his rain water from his tank at his homestead.

The pastoralist owns the infrastructure...homesteads, buildings, sheds, fences, yards, machinery, wind mills, solar mills, troughs etc. He has a right just as any home owner to expect them not to be interfered with, destroyed, vandalized, shot up or stolen.

He also owns all the cattle or sheep. He gets annoyed when he finds them shot and the back straps or a few good roasts missing.
Regarding firearms, NO!
I could be wrong, but the way I understand the WA firearms regulations, unlike other states there is no shooting on crown land.
To shoot on crown land covered by a pastoral lease you need a property letter from the pastoralist. Most will notify the Police if a gun is sighted or heard.

He also owns the roads or tracks he puts in for his benefit.
In general, he has no concerns about you using those roads or tracks but he will ask that you stay off them when it's wet.

Basically, common sense from both sides and as Dave said all will get along fine.

Great write up Jeff and cheers for all the links.
Also thanks for your input Madtuna and I hope the west is treating you well!
Hoff