Best Place to Find Gold in Western Australia

Western Australia is Australia’s most popular metal detecting destination, attracting thousands of recreational gold prospectors from the eastern states of Australia. Much of Western Australia’s appeal for gold prospectors rely on the remoteness and arid wilderness scenario, with the added opportunity to strike it rich. The gold prospective area in Western Australia is very large, but generally gold occurrences stretch in a broad line from Norseman in the south, through Kalgoorlie, Leonora, Wiluna, Meekatharra, Nullagine, Marble Bar, Halls Creek, and west to the beaches of Karratha on the northwest coast.

History of Gold Prospecting in Western Australia

The metal detecting boom in Western Australia commenced in the mid-1970s. Many prospectors ventured out from Kalgoorlie and Meekatharra with new metal detectors aiming to locate gold nuggets using what it was then state of the art technology.

Early detectors however were designed to detect coins and other treasure in America, and were not particularly effective in the highly mineralised and ferruginous soils of Western Australia.

After much experimentation and perseverance, prospectors using early metal detectors got the results they werer after and started finding gold nuggets, particularly over places that had not been visited since the Great Depression in the 1930s.

Although initially gold findings were rather modest, gradually words reached other people around Australia and elsewhere in the world who became interested in gold prospecting. Newspaper articles began featuring excited faces looking at shiny finds of gold nuggets, not just in Western Australia, but all across Australia.

Before 1973, gold nuggets were only sold to registered gold buyers, who would melt down the gold. After 1973, gold nuggets could be freely traded for the first time.

In the late 1970s, gold price increased substantially. Prospectors, mineral collectors and investors began seeking out rare gold nuggets, which were worth a premium over the average price of gold. Nugget jewellery in the form of pendants, earrings and bracelets began to appear available in Kalgoorlie and Perth, and quickly raised in popularity among Australians.

Water had always been an limiting factor influencing Western Australia’s mines and prospectors. Early miners had to rely primarily on dry blowing, a method of separating alluvial gold that is less efficient than traditional water-based separation methods.

As a result, only the richest patches, in the order of at least 1 ounce of gold per tonne of rock mined, were valuable and mined. This represented a great opportunity for early metal detectors, as much of the lower grade gold was left behind.

The early prospectors of Western Australia belonged to a later era, compared to the Eastern States. Tin cans of bully-beef replaced mutton chops or salted meta; bicycles and barrows replaced horses; coins and paper money were often in short supply and trading tokens were no longer accepted.

The mix of nationalities and races were also different from those in the East. The Afghans were brought to Australia to manage the camel transport, and, because of riguous restrictions, fewer Chinese made their way into Western Australia.

Western Australia Today

Western Australia remains Australia’s most popular metal detecting destination, attracting thousands of recreational gold prospectors from the eastern states of Australia.

Much of Western Australia’s appeal for gold prospectors rely on the remoteness and arid wilderness scenario. For many Australians (and other visitors from all around the world), gold prospecting in Western Australia represents a great opportunity to engage in a four wheel driving adventure, visit the Australian Outback and let in some red dust, sip tea made from bore water and, with a bit of luck, strike it rich!

The gold prospective area in Western Australia is very large, and new fields are constantly being discovered. Gold occurrences stretch in a broad line from Norseman in the south, through Kalgoorlie, Leonora, Wiluna, Meekatharra, Nullagine, Marble Bar, Halls Creek, and west to the beaches of Karratha on the northwest coast.

Even today, in 2019, three-rut tracks are routinely encountered. Old cow bells, harness buckles, pots and pans are found, meaning that the person prospecting that ground might well be the first to prospect in that area with a modern metal detector since the early prospectors first worked the area at the turn of the century.

However, such areas become increasingly harder to find. A few years ago, it was relatively easy to find gold within an hours’ drive from Kalgoorlie, but today, you have to travel a bit further to more remote areas and spend a bit of time researching “undetected patches”.

Having said that, it is important to note that areas previously scanned with metal detectors become prospective once again as technology improves. A prospective patch that was cleared 10 years ago might well be prospective once again using a modern metal detector.

One problem in the Eastern Goldfields is that over-grazing and tree clearing has increased dryland salinity, resulting in frequent salty patches that are difficult to ground-balance in your detector.

Remember that the metal detector is just a tool, and is important to understand how to use it in order to maximise its efficiency.

Best Places for Gold Prospecting in Western Australia.

The following is a list of gold prospecting areas in Western Australia where nuggets are found regularly. They contain a GPS reference point to help you navigate to the location with ease.

This list should be used for reference purposes only and rules for prospecting and accessing land must be understood and followed prior to venturing out prospecting for gold.

List of gold prospecting areas near Kalgoorlie-Boulder:

• Jubilee (408000E, 6624000N). Jubilee occurs approximately 65 km northeast of Kalgoorlie on the Kurnalpi Road. The terrain is undulating and easy to get around, hence a good place for beginners.
• Lake Lapage – Grey Dam (413000E, 6614000N). Early miners scraped the gravel above the dense clay underlying the shoreline. This area is one of the best preserved salt lake puddlers in Australia. The Lady of the Lake puddler was built above the lake bed with a long lead up ramp, and official records state that 371 oz of alluvial gold were processed here.
• Kurnalpi (426000E, 6622000N). Many large nuggets have been found by early miners at Kurnalpi. In recent times, the alluvial runs have been worked with small front-end loaders and metal detectors. Although alluvial patches are jealously guarded by local prospectors, many patches outside the area have been found and there is still a lot of ground under-explored.
• Mulgabbie (445000E, 6662000N) Numerous ironstone and lightly timbered hills radiate out in all directions from Mulgabbie Hill. Gullies and steep batters strewn with quartz indicate that gold could be very widespread in this area. Several shafts are aligned along a rich reef northwest of the base of Mulgabbie Hill. Extensive alluvial flats surrounding the shafts have produced abundant nuggets and still offer great potential today.
• Garibaldi (392000E, 6625000N). Numerous gold finds are scattered throughout the area, including Penny’s Find, are disseminated through the ironstone and laterite hills of the area.
• Kalpini (399000E, 6636000N). A series of gold workings, mines and shafts are located near Carmelia Road on the way from Kalgoorlie towards Kalpini Dam. There are numerous deep shafts to watch out for.
• Gordon’s Dam (364000E, 6631000N). This area is found after passing Kanowna from Kalgoorlie and continuing straight towards Gindalbie Homestead. Gordon’s Dam covers a very extensive area over dry lake beds. Numerous large nuggets have been found throughout the area.
• Lindsay Well – Ginbaldie (380000E, 6644000N). Diggings and shaft at Ginbaldie extend from the wind mill that is located east of the old township to several Km northeast of Ginbaldie. The track into Lindsay Well heads northwest past an old rifle range to the well and a fence line running north-south. Diggings are found for some distance on both sides of the fence.
• Edjudina (437500E, 6701500N). About 116 Km past Gindalbie Homestead, the Edjudina and Yarri mining districts are found. There are old dry blowing patches scattered throughout the area, and nuggets have been found over a large area around.
• Broad Arrow. Nuggets of over 60 oz have been found near Broad Arrow in the area about 2 Km west from Broad Arrow junction. The area contains numerous diggings and shafts as well as patches of dry blowings.
• Carnage (301000E, 6637000N). The Carnage workings occur approximately 9 Km West from the Ora Banda township and pub. Numerous nuggets have been found on this area over a straight line, suggesting the nuggets were either shed along strike from a mineralised reef, or redeposited in shallow gullies.
• Carbine Station (300000E, 6626000N). Carbine occurs northeast of Coolgardie and can be accessed trough the Coolgardie North road, or through Broad Arrow / Ora Banda. Numerous nuggets have been found in this area, both on the flats as well as along gullies in surrounding hills.