Gold exploration continues in Western Australia

Around 1,400 Western Australian Miner's Right documents were issued in a year ago. Two years into the COVID 19 pandemic, that has increased nearly threefold.

More Australians are braving the remote WA outback in search of gold, according to the data from the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety.

Marika DaSilva and her husband Nigel have been travelling the country since the Pandemic began in 2019 in their campervan.

The DaSilvas are not just on holiday, they are working hard looking for nuggets of gold, unlike many other holiday makers.

People don't realize that you have to be out there early, you've got to dig in the dust and flies, and go to places that are pretty remote and pretty ugly, he said.

James Allison, the president of the Amalgamated Prospects and Leaseholders Association APLA, said the rise in Miner's Right certification had also seen a 20 per cent increase in his association's membership.

He said that in the last two years, because of COVID and not travelling everybody followed the West Australian Wander out Yonder'' campaign.

He believed that Kimberley in the north of WA was a hotspot thanks to areas of untouched potential.

Gold was first found around Old Halls Creek, but there are other areas around Derby, up into the Broome area and over Turkey Creek, he said.

It's places like that around where gold was found in the early days, but with new technology, gold is still being found, as far as metal detectors. Ms DaSilva said that the couple was looking forward to prospecting in the Kimberley this year after finding more than 150 grams of gold in the area last year.

The DaSilvas plan to scour the remote areas in the state's north, armed with a $10,000 metal detector.

Most of the gold is quite shallow. We'll find bigger nuggets which would probably be 60 centimetres deep, but they're much harder to find now, he said.

The couple said that their detector picked up a lot of metal junk from the original 19th century prospectors, who used to bury their litter in the ground.

Mr DaSilva said that we're quite excited when we find that rubbish, because that means it's an old gold area.

You'll sometimes get coins, rings or buttons, lots of buttons, and little shoe nails. It only costs around $30 to get a Miner's Right in WA, and APLA President Mr Allison said it was an Australian tradition and that it is a way of life.

He warned the new and old prospectors to plan their trips before they leave.

A lot of that ground is held by traditional owners under native title, and you need to seek their permission first before you go on to that, he said.

Marika and Nigel urged other retirees to take a metal detector and try their hand at searching for gold.

It's good exercise as you're walking all day, and fitness is good, your heart is good, Ms DaSilva said.