Missing Victorian prospector from Kalgoorlie

Another lost from Mulgabbie, about 130km north-east of Kalgoorlie.

https://thewest.com.au/news/regional/search-on-for-missing-prospector-in-the-goldfields-ng-b88699771z

Maybe they should hand him a bill for the waste of resources they have used to try and find him, also should be fined to boot, you have to wonder what goes through some peoples heads

https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/goldfields/missing-man-prospector-missing-in-was-goldfields-ng-b88699776z

au-fever

He's been found. He apparently was hitchhikimg his way back to Victoria. WTF !!!

https://thewest.com.au/news/goldfields/missing-man-prospector-missing-in-was-goldfields-ng-b88699799z

never mind the bloke who got lost....I reckon the bloke in the photo they used is a fairly attractive looking fella.

Perhaps he planned on being never found? Could have good life insurance.

As we've already said, "Give him the bill". No excuse for what he did.

But, moving on. I've been thinking about this "getting lost" business and "survival" etc. I reckon prospectors have a case to ask the WA Govt to pay for EPIRBs or PLBs. The govt subsidise electronic shark deterrents that prevent death in more cases than simply injury and we get as many shark attacks as we do lost prospectors. The cost of a shark attack recovery can be far less than that of a lost soul as there are often people around when an attack occurs. That's often not the case with a lost prospector and the search cost can be massive, far more than ferrying in half a dead body from a known spot.

It would cost the govt far less to simply fork out 250 bucks than pay for choppers, aircraft, police etc to find that needle in a haystack who is a person. APLA priced the supply of PLBs for all it's members as we were gonna go for a grant from the Lotteries or the Regional Area Funds thing. Firstly, APLA doesn't qualify for a lotteries grant and the others must all be "for social and economic development" in a specific location AND be available to everyone. The cost estimate was in the hudreds of thousands for APLA to supply. Idea dropped,,,,,

JMTs.

W

There is a sort of precedence set in that if your a full time prospector you can/could get a 85%(I think) subsidy on sat phones. In WA if your a full time prospector you can get a 50% subsidy on all your vehicle rego's including trucks and trailers etc The key is the difference between recreational and full time/semi professional. Perhaps it would be better if recreational prospectors were only allowed in certain 'permission' areas...that way they won't get lost. If people are stupid enough to go bush without safety gear then I would put it down to Darwin's theory in practice.

I don't think its a case of being lost at all, if he were lost and ended up on a road he logically would have tried to get a lift back to camp where his mate was not the other way, who in this day and age that does what we do, would not know that there would be a search mounted for him?, apart from that his mate would have had to drive into Kal to report him lost or get close enough to get a phone signal to alert the cops.

Its either the case that he was going to pretend to be lost and slip back home as mentioned for a dodgy insurance claim, the police should investigate it as it might have to have been pre planned by him and possibly his mate, or he has just simply cracked the sh#ts with his mate and just slunk away, either way he has caused grief for his mate and wasted valuable resources that possibly while they were engaged on a fruitless search for him could have been better used searching for someone who really needed the help, like I said hand him the bill

au-fever

pilko wrote:There is a sort of precedence set in that if your a full time prospector you can/could get a 85%(I think) subsidy on  sat phones. In WA if your a full time prospector you can get a 50% subsidy on all your vehicle rego's including trucks and trailers etc The key is the difference between recreational and full time/semi professional. Perhaps it would be better if recreational prospectors were only allowed in certain 'permission' areas...that way they won't get lost. If people are stupid enough to go bush without safety gear then I would put it down to Darwin's theory in practice.

Now, there be dragons, there!!  

hahaha....are you suggesting I'm stirring Les??

pilko wrote:hahaha....are you suggesting I'm stirring Les??

Now, would I think of a thing like that? That's a terrible thing to say. But you could be right!

But seriously. I've had this conversation with several "senior players", pastoralists and govt depts in this game of Dual Land Users. It all stemmed from the Sect 40e changes that were being proposed. Some of the more drastic solutions coming from recreational prospectors themselves. Basically, the attitude by some was that if some prospectors can't or simply refuse to play by the rules, do the right thing, etc then they should be banished to "fossicking areas" or changing the Mining Act to have the Miners Right cancelled entirely. Next idea - Miners Rights are only issued to West Australians who reside in WA. The list was endless! But,,,,,,gawd, I hate that "F" word but when I have to listen to it being even suggested it makes me wonder if a number of prospectors aren't just crapping in their own nest!

It makes it bloody difficult argue against this "F word" when I see dipschits like this "lost prospector" just laughing at us here in WA. It's dicks like him and others that don't put in 40e reports, go on leaseholders ground without permission, cut fences 'cos they can't find a way through, etc,etc - all these things just help our enemies to get rid of us.

W

Tricky aint it......my 'head say's a big yes to controlling where recreational prospectors can go...it would make my life easier when dealing with the other interest groups. But my heart say's no...one of the things that makes prospecting great is the 'relative' freedom that we all have. When I look at the Eastern States I really wonder why people would bother...compared to prospecting in WA.

Look at what Minara Resources is doing in their attempt to bully and intimidate prospectors (only the inexperienced ones)..it's a disgrace but I suspect we will see more and more of this kind of action in the immediate future. Les can explain if he wants to.

I know I bang on about it and put some noses out of joint but I'm on the ground every day and can feel the tensions rising and at some point it will give enough ammunition to active interest group/s and there will be changes that prospectors won't like.

Restrictions will only keep the honest out. The feral ones breaking the rules now will continue to do so.

Moneybox wrote:Restrictions will only keep the honest out. The feral ones breaking the rules now will continue to do so.

good point

Hi Pilko, can you enlarge on your statement re what Minara Resources are doing to the prospectors. Many thanks. Bob

A prospector regardless of being recreational or professional is a prospector without us the games up

BIG GEM wrote:Hi Pilko, can you enlarge on your statement re what Minara Resources are doing to the prospectors.  Many thanks.  Bob

Hi Bob,
I'll leave that to Les if he chooses to.
Tony

hippyty wrote:A prospector regardless of being recreational or professional is a prospector without us the games up

Yes and no.....I love the fact that a $25.oo piece of paper really can be such an equalizer. That is, we are all out there with a common interest etc etc etc but what do you have to loose?? (I'm just talking in general ) Would the whole Eureka Stockade thing have happened if it wasn't for people's ability to make a living being attacked? So I do agree with your comment on one side...but on the other, professional prospectors have a lot more to loose. That doesn't make them better or worse or anything, but please understand that when I talk about all these issues (and get worked up some times)..in the front of my mind are really issues like 'how do I keep putting food on the table". Anyway....just some thoughts late at night

Hi pilko, I’ve run my business for 15yrs now in Perth and I can see where your comments come from in the last year on the forum and business is business.A lot of people don’t realize things like paperwork downtime
Paying your own super,taking a holiday if and when you can. But without the humble prospector building numbers for prospecting and mining and adding to the apla family you might as well hand the land back to the corporates or the original owners

hippyty wrote:Hi pilko, I’ve run my business for 15yrs now in Perth and I can see where your comments come from in the last year on the forum and business is business.A lot of people don’t realize things like paperwork downtime
Paying your own super,taking a holiday if and when you can. But without the humble prospector building numbers for prospecting and mining and adding to the  apla family you might as well hand the land back to the corporates or the original owners

agreed

In the ongoing light of things, there may be justification for a 2 tiered system of the Miners Right.

Initially, any person making application for a Miners Right should satisfy the requirements of a DMP knowledge questionnaire. (seven years ago, I was simply asked did I have a GPS, but not did I know how to use it!)

First level for the hobbyist/recreational fossicker who (as in Qld.) is restricted to designated fossicking sites (no 40e applications etc.) or given restricted access by permit from a Tenement Holder.

Next stage, a Right for holders of an appropriate ABN/ACN plus APLA membership. This would allow application for 40e etc. permits plus establish the person's bona fides when making representations to prospect on Corporate held Tenements.

There are several benefits here, but primarily the holder of the ABN/Miners Right has the opportunity to claim prospecting expenses by way of ATO returns and the Company is dealing with an identifiable prospector on their Tenement expense returns.
This would make for a more level playing field, but may be onerous for persons wishing to stay under the radar who should be caught anyway.
It would work very well for us.
Mike

if you earning more than 60k declared you would have a abn any way, silly not to really as far as claiming on the tax side off it. but really don't need the paper work that would come with quarter bass payments, over that side of things, really need a miners right and a fossicker permit like other countries where beach or private land for fossicker only. But we all know end of the day it only the honest that dose the right thing, but as subject is on this thread the bugger knew what he was doing so send him the bill for the search.

“Fossicking” or “Prospecting”. Do we really need to see the end of what we enjoy here in the West.
Do we really want to end up like states in East ? No Effing Way.
My family has a history of gold mining or prospecting here in the West dating back to the 1880’s, I’m sure as hell I’m not giving up my rights even if it only cost $25 for a piece of paper.
As for the losers who come over here and cause trouble, stay home, where ever that is.

At the end of the day the onus is on the person to look after themselves when in the bush, I have all but given up preaching to people that I know personally that take risks every time they are in the bush, leaving camp without water, without a gps or radio and, wearing thongs instead of boots so on, some people just cant be told and are their own worst enemy, in a nutshell they are an accident waiting to happen, and if you know people like this and they persist in doing what they do then you should not go bush with them as if they don't care about themselves they sure as hell wont care about you if you get lost.

All this carry on about making laws for this and laws for that will only restrict what we do to the point it will become just too hard to do it at all, leave it alone and put the blame back where it belongs on the fool that does not do the right thing in the first place, if you cant work it out for yourself that if you don't cover your own ass and you get in the shite then you need to accept the consequences, everyone seems to be the victim these days and too ready to blame everyone else for their own failings.

Its all different these days to what it was like when I first started out and you just picked things up as you went so to speak, there were few other options to learn the ropes and little information available, but nowadays with all the information, forums, websites and so on with information on just about every subject you can imagine, so anybody with an interest in detecting cant help but know what they should or should not be doing.

The only law that should be put in place is if you are found negligent then you should also be liable for the costs of the search and maybe this will start to wake people up.

au-fever

au-fever wrote:

The only law that should be put in place is if you are found negligent then you should also be liable for the costs of the search and maybe this will start to wake people up.

au-fever

Agreed! You get fined for, no seat belt, peeing in public etc etc, even the PM got fined for no life jacket. ( )
Jokes aside it is a serious subject, and fools should be made accountable. (As mentioned earlier it smells this one, bit of planning one would suspect.)

BTW When I was struck down with this disease Miners Rights cost 50 cents.