For David Enright, chasing gold is not just a hobby, it’s a lifestyle.
After a back injury that left him unemployed 18 months ago, David, from Coffin Bay, South Australia, took off for the outback, with a metal detector in his hand.
“I travel a lot, [to the] Northern Territory, up here to Marble Bar, then I’ll go down to Kalgoorlie, “he said.
David said prospecting offered an addictive thrill.
“Chasing him, he could be right there, and you get there and there’s nothing, but you think, ‘Right there,’ and you keep going and going.”
David Enright travels through the interior of Australia, searching. (ABC Regional Drive: Louise Miolin)
WA Amalgamated Association of Prospectors and Landlords (APLA) President James Allison said there were about 43,000 registered prospectors in WA.
“We bring in more than $ 350 million a year to local economies, it’s a pretty big industry,” Allison said.
The APLA organizes “novice” camps for novice seekers, teaching geology, equipment use, and forest safety.
Perth retirees Dianne and Perry Hepton recently completed one of the camps before embarking on their first journey in search of gold for Marble Bar.
“I said,‘ Look, I’ll come, but don’t expect me to enjoy it, ’but I love it,” Dianne said.
“We fish, travel and look at landscapes. That’s another thing to add to our list.”
Dianne and Perry Hepton are hooked on prospecting, their latest hobby. (ABC Regional Drive: Louise Miolin)
Gold standard security
But prospecting is not for the faint of heart: Mr. Allison said people need to be prepared with enough water and supplies, proper communication tools such as satellite phones and personal location beacons.
“Once you enter these regions, you realize the remoteness of the place and the distance between the municipalities,” he said.
“One of the biggest problems we face is when people get lost in the woods.”
This is a problem that the local Marble Bar Danielo Specogna knows first hand.
In 2012, he spent a creepy night alone in the woods after breaking up with his friend while searching.
Marble Bar local Danielo Specogna got lost in the bush during prospecting in 2012. (ABC Regional Drive: Louise Miolin)
Daniel buried himself in the sand while waiting for help.
“There was this eagle, right on top of me, circling, looking at me, and I just pulled an arm out from under the sand and I gave my finger, and it worked!
“It came in the morning, I heard the sirens, I went out, I tried to go to the sound, I couldn’t walk straight.
“Thank God they saw me, they took me down to a tent, they gave me a lunch, the best orange of my life!”
For David Enright, physical security is not the only concern: prospecting is also a mental game.
“I usually have my kelpie with me, and this time my kelpie is with my partner,” he said.
“That’s the hardest part, being alone; it costs a toll.”
But he said the buzz of gold was enough to keep him going.
Prospectors say hitting gold is an addictive thrill. (Regional and local ABC: Jenny Feast)
“You feel excited, your energy has rejuvenated, it gives you a good direction to get up early again, to start again.”
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Posted 11 hours, 11 hours ago, Saturday, May 28, 2022 at 12:21 AM, updated 11 hours, 11 hours ago, Saturday, May 28, 2022 at 12:27 PM