Gold Country • Cue WA

Prospecting
in Cue

Cue sits in the heart of historic Western Australian gold country. If you're heading out with a detector, make sure you know where you can legally prospect, obtain the right permissions and prepare properly for remote country.

Check TENGRAPH Miner’s Right Information
Important
The Shire does not provide prospecting ground

The Shire of Cue does not hold, provide or manage prospecting tenements or designated public prospecting areas.

Land being within the Shire of Cue does not mean that it is available for prospecting. The Shire cannot give permission to enter or prospect on land controlled by a mining tenement holder, pastoralist, private landholder or other land manager. You must check the current land and mining tenure and obtain the permissions that apply before entering.

Before the detector comes out

Gold country — but not all ground is open ground

Cue, Day Dawn and the surrounding Murchison are synonymous with gold. Old workings, shafts and diggings can still be seen throughout the district.

But the presence of old workings does not mean an area is available for recreational prospecting. Mining tenure changes regularly and much of the country around Cue is covered by active exploration, prospecting or mining tenements and pastoral leases.

Check the status of the exact ground you intend to visit immediately before your trip.

Gold specimen photographed in the Cue region
Before you leave Cue

Four things to do first

01
Get a Miner’s Right
Each person wishing to prospect or fossick on Crown land must hold their own current Miner’s Right.
02
Check TENGRAPH
Check the current mining tenure over the exact area you intend to prospect. Tenement status can change, so do not rely on an old map or what applied on your last visit.
03
Get permission
If the ground is covered by a mining tenement, obtain the required written permission from the tenement holder or, for eligible exploration licence ground, obtain a Section 40E permit.
04
Tell someone your plan
Leave your route, intended prospecting area, vehicle details and expected return time with someone reliable. Carry a PLB on your person and suitable remote-area communications.
Western Australian requirement

Your Miner’s
Right

A Miner’s Right is required for each person wishing to prospect or fossick on Crown land in Western Australia.

In WA law, prospecting and fossicking are not exactly the same thing. Searching for gold with a metal detector is prospecting and requires a Miner’s Right.

A Miner’s Right can allow limited handheld prospecting, fossicking and sampling on eligible Crown land. Samples of ore or material up to 20 kilograms may be taken where the activity is otherwise lawful.

A Miner’s Right is not a mining tenement. It does not give you unrestricted access to land and does not authorise mining operations or the use of heavy machinery.
How to get a Miner’s Right Miner’s Right Rules
Access depends on the land

Where can I prospect?

There is no single blanket permission for prospecting around Cue. What you need depends on the tenure and status of the land.

Available Crown land

A Miner’s Right holder may prospect on eligible vacant or unallocated Crown land that is not covered by a granted mining tenement, subject to the restrictions applying to that land.

Pastoral lease

Eligible Crown land on a pastoral lease may be available, but prospectors must take reasonable and practicable steps to notify the pastoralist and comply with applicable access protections.

Respect gates, stock, roads, water infrastructure, station operations and reasonable requests from the pastoralist.

Mining tenement

Prospecting on a mining lease, prospecting licence or other granted mining tenement requires the appropriate permission from the tenement holder. Do not assume an inactive-looking site is available.

Exploration licence

You need written permission from the exploration licence holder or, where the land is eligible, a Section 40E permit.

A Section 40E permit applies to nominated Crown land on a granted exploration licence, is valid for three months and allows handheld tools only. Access cannot commence during the initial 21-day notification period unless the required licensee statement is received earlier.

Section 40E Permit information  →
Restricted or unavailable land

A Miner’s Right does not give unrestricted access to private property, national parks, nature reserves, townsites or other classified reserves. Additional permission or authority may be required, and some areas cannot be prospected at all.

Know the boundaries

Keep clear of protected areas

Unless the required consent or authority applies, a Miner’s Right holder cannot prospect in specified protected areas. Important distances include:

100 metres

Keep clear of occupied buildings, yards, stockyards, gardens, cultivated areas, airstrips or airfields and cemeteries or burial grounds unless the necessary consent or authority applies.

400 metres

On pastoral leases, keep clear of the outer edge of water works, races, dams, wells and bores unless the necessary consent or authority applies.

Country & heritage

Respect cultural heritage and Native Title

Prospectors must also consider laws and rights that apply alongside the Mining Act, including Aboriginal cultural heritage and Native Title.

A Miner’s Right does not provide lawful access to land subject to exclusive possession Native Title rights. Permission from the relevant Native Title party is required before entering that land.

Do not disturb Aboriginal cultural heritage places, objects or sites. The Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Inquiry System can be used to check recorded heritage information, but absence from a map does not remove your legal obligations.

Check Aboriginal Cultural Heritage
Remote area safety

The gold can wait.
Your safety can't.

Prospecting country around Cue is remote. Mobile coverage can disappear quickly, temperatures can be extreme and help may be a long way away.

Plan as though your vehicle may break down and your mobile phone may have no signal.

Before heading bush

Carry the right gear

Personal Locator Beacon

Carry a registered PLB on your person when you leave the vehicle or camp. A GPS tells you where you are; it does not alert emergency services.

Water, fuel & first aid

Carry substantially more water and fuel than your planned trip requires, along with appropriate first aid, sun protection and emergency supplies.

Communications

Do not rely on mobile coverage or UHF alone. Consider a satellite phone or satellite messaging device and know how to use it before leaving town.

Leave a trip plan

Tell a reliable person where you are going, your planned return time and when to raise the alarm if you fail to check in.

Serious hazard
Stay out of abandoned mine workings

Cue's mining history means old shafts, stopes, pits, costeans, waste dumps and other abandoned workings can occur in the landscape. Some are difficult to see until you are dangerously close.

Never enter an abandoned shaft, tunnel or mine working. Ground around old openings can collapse without warning. Do not move barriers, fencing or material placed around abandoned workings and take particular care when walking or driving through old mining areas.

Leave it safe

Look after the country

Fill holes and make disturbed ground safe
Remove all rubbish when you leave
Avoid unnecessary damage to vegetation and tracks
Prevent the spread of fire
Leave gates as you find them
Protect livestock and pastoral infrastructure
Do not interfere with old mine safety barriers
Minimise vehicle damage to tracks and country

A Miner’s Right holder may be liable for loss or damage caused while exercising prospecting rights.

More than recreational prospecting?

A Miner’s Right does not authorise mechanised mining

A Miner’s Right is intended for limited prospecting activities. It does not authorise mining operations. Ground disturbance using mechanised equipment requires appropriate mining tenure and may require an approved Programme of Work before activity begins.

Mechanised exploration & Programme of Work requirements  →
Official information

Useful prospecting links

Use current government information rather than relying on old printed maps, social media posts or somebody else's previous permission.

TENGRAPH Web  →
Check current mining tenements, tenure and land information.
Miner’s Rights  →
Current Miner’s Right requirements, rights and obligations.
Section 40E Permits  →
Access arrangements for eligible Crown land within granted exploration licences.
Prospecting in Western Australia Guide  →
DMPE's current guide to prospecting rights, obligations and practical requirements.
Mining Registrar Offices  →
Contact the Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration for tenure and prospecting enquiries. The nearest Mining Registrar office to Cue is at Mount Magnet.
Shire of Cue Road Report  →
Check current Shire road conditions before travelling beyond town.
Before leaving town

Check conditions

Rain can quickly change unsealed road conditions and fire danger can affect remote travel. Check conditions immediately before leaving Cue and be prepared to change your plans.

Cue Road Report Main Roads Travel Map Emergency WA
Legal information

This page provides general visitor information only and is not legal advice or a substitute for the Mining Act 1978, Mining Regulations 1981 or other applicable legislation. Prospectors are responsible for confirming current mining tenure, land access, permissions and legal requirements before entering land or undertaking any prospecting activity. Other legislation may also apply, including the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972, Land Administration Act 1997 and Bush Fires Act 1954.

Visiting Cue

Need local travel information?

The Shire can assist with local visitor and road information, but cannot determine whether particular mining ground is available or provide permission to prospect on another party's land or tenement.

Shire of Cue
73 Austin Street, Cue WA 6640
(08) 9963 8600
shire@cue.wa.gov.au