Detector Maps
Gold Maps For South Australia. Built By Geologists.
Precious stone fields, live mining leases, a century of historic gold and the state’s geochemistry — one offline map of South Australia.
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Detector Maps’ South Australian gold maps layer precious stone fields, mining leases and exploration licences, historic gold occurrences, geochemistry, magnetics and 100k geology over South Australia — refreshed on a schedule you can depend on.
First, Find Ground You Can Dig.
Precious Stones Fields
South Australia's declared precious stones fields (e.g. Coober Pedy, Andamooka) — opal-mining areas under the Opal Mining Act 1995, mapped so you know they're there. These are opal, not gold: prospecting needs a Precious Stones Prospecting Permit and a registered claim, and you can't enter someone else's claim. Tap a field to read the rules before you go.
Mining Leases & Exploration Licences
Granted mining leases are usually not suitable for recreational fossicking — if one covers your spot, choose another area. Mineral or opal exploration licences can set limits or require permission: generally you won't be able to enter without seeking it.
Historic Mining Leases
Historic lease footprints — areas worked in the past. Treat as leads; confirm modern access first.
Property Boundaries
Parcel boundaries — private vs public at a glance. Private land needs the owner's permission.
Aboriginal Land: land and reserves with their own access rules — may require permissions before entry; if you can't meet the requirements, pick another area. National, Recreation and Conservation Parks: prospecting is often restricted or not allowed — do not enter.
Then, Find Where The Gold Was — And Is.
Historic Gold Occurrences & Nuggets
Official records of past gold finds, old mines and workings — plus reported nugget finds pulled from Trove newspaper archives. Turn this on first to choose a general area, then stack geochemistry and geology to pick your targets.
Soils
Gold concentrations in soil samples — look for trends that suggest gold nearby. Compare with geology and geophysics.
Streams
Creek-sediment gold in ppb — a strong result means a source upstream. Work upstream, focus on bedrock and crevices.
Rock Chips
Gold in exposed rock, in ppm. Visit readings over 10ppm and look along strike of the mineralised sample.
Max Downhole Gold
Highest gold value per drillhole — where explorers committed. Note samples over 30ppm Au.
Old mines and workings are clues, not places to enter. Keep a safe distance from shafts and unstable ground.
Then Get The Edge Nobody Else Has.
Magnetics (RTP)
Total magnetic intensity reduced to pole — the bedrock and its strike, even under South Australia's deep cover. Some rocks and magnetic features host gold; compare with geochemistry and historic occurrences to find trends nobody's detected.
Magnetics (1VD)
First vertical derivative — edges, breaks and lines in shallow magnetics. Compare with RTP and geology.
100k Geology
State geology from big picture to local detail — older units are your source rocks; recent units can carry alluvial gold near source.
Contours & 250k Topography
Read the ground and plan access — gentle slopes, flats and simple ground near your leads.
Waterways
Creeks, rivers and drainage lines — where material moves and settles. Pair with stream geochemistry.
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Finally, Keep The Trip Legal And Safe.
Parks & Reserves
National, Recreation and Conservation Park boundaries — prospecting is often restricted or not allowed. Do not enter.
Parks — No Mining
Park areas where mining and prospecting are excluded — mapped so you plan around them.
Aboriginal Land
Land and reserves with their own access rules — may require permissions before entry.
Pastoral Stations
Station boundaries — know whose ground you're crossing before you ask.
The access conversation happens at home, not at a locked gate. Rules vary by state — we link to the relevant government page in-app.
SA LiDAR? Not yet.
SA LiDAR isn’t available yet — and we won’t sell you a layer that doesn’t exist. Leave your email and we’ll tell you the day it goes live.
Works With Zero Bars.
Download 10+ offline areas of 250 km² each on Wi-Fi and every SA base layer rides along — fields, leases, geochem, geology. GPS works with zero bars. Re-download before each trip so your tenements are current.
One subscription. Every base layer. Every state.
Pay monthly or save on yearly — the 3-day free trial lives on the yearly plans. LiDAR hillshade is the only paid add-on, priced per state.
Explorer
Everything most prospectors need.
$8.25/mo — billed yearly · 2 months free
About 27c a day.
- Gold occurrences, tenements, geology, historic workings, geochem
- Land access + public boundaries
- Offline maps + breadcrumb tracking
- Georeference your own maps — 1 GB uploads
- Access unlimited community maps
- Encrypted waypoint sync across devices
- Community feed + competition
- Priority email support
See everything included
billed monthly — cancel anytime
3-day trial, then $99/yr — cancel anytime
Pro
Professional-grade data. AI on every report.
$20.75/mo — billed yearly · save 40% vs monthly
- Everything in Explorer
- All mineral occurrences
- Search 300,000+ exploration reports by keyword, company or commodity
- Instant AI summaries — skip the 400-page PDFs
- 5 GB georeferencer uploads
- Daily tenement alerts
See everything included
billed monthly — cancel anytime
3-day trial, then $249/yr — cancel anytime
South Australia questions, straight answers.
Start with the Historic Gold Occurrences layer — including nugget finds from Trove newspaper archives — to choose a general area, then stack geochemistry, geology and magnetics to pick targets, and check the lease layers before you drive. No app can promise gold; we get you to better country faster.
South Australia’s declared precious stones fields (Coober Pedy, Andamooka, Lambina, Mintabie) — opal-mining areas under the Opal Mining Act 1995, mapped in the app. They’re for opal, not gold: prospecting needs a Precious Stones Prospecting Permit and a registered claim, and you can’t enter someone else’s claim. Tap a field to read the rules before you go.
Usually not — granted mining leases aren’t suitable for recreational fossicking. If a lease covers your spot, choose another area.
Mineral or opal exploration licences can set limits or require permission — generally you won’t be able to enter areas they cover unless you seek it.
National, Recreation and Conservation Parks are mapped because prospecting is often restricted or not allowed there — do not enter. The Parks — No Mining layer marks where mining and prospecting are excluded.
Not yet. Everything else is live today: precious stone fields, leases, historic gold, geochemistry, magnetics and geology, all working offline. Leave your email on this page and we’ll tell you the day SA LiDAR ships.
Stop Guessing. Start Prospecting.
The Echunga data is already on the map.
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Prospect smarter, not harder. Built in Queensland.
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