Prospector Mate was created by two mates from Victoria, Australia, Sean and Ed, who share a passion for technology, the outdoors, and the adventure of discovering Australia’s rich goldfields.
Together, they bring decades of experience in the IT industry. Sean is a Software Engineer with a passion for designing practical, user-friendly applications, while Ed has spent his career as an IT Engineer delivering reliable technology solutions. Their combined experience has provided the technical foundation behind Prospector Mate.
Their journey into prospecting began in different ways.
Sean developed an interest through his father, who enjoyed gold panning and exploring the Victorian goldfields and the opal fields of Lightning Ridge. Spending time together outdoors sparked a fascination that has grown into a lifelong passion for prospecting, history, and exploring Australia’s historic goldfields.
Ed caught the prospecting bug young. At just 14 years of age, he received his first metal detector from Dick Smith Electronics, igniting an interest that has remained with him ever since. That early experience gave him an appreciation for both the excitement of finding gold and the challenge of learning where to look.
Why we built it
As technology evolved, so did the way prospectors planned their trips. Geological maps, historical records, satellite imagery, Bare Ground LiDAR, land access information, GPS tracking, and personal find locations became scattered across multiple apps and websites. The constant need to switch between different tools inspired Sean and Ed to ask a simple question:
Why isn’t there one app that brings everything together, without uploading your data to a server?
That question became Prospector Mate.
Prospector Mate has been designed as more than just a mapping application. It’s a field companion that helps prospectors plan their trips, navigate confidently, record their discoveries, explore the history of Australia’s goldfields, and build their own personal prospecting journal, all while working offline in remote locations, and not uploading your hard-earned data up to someone’s server.
Where it goes next
This is only the beginning. The vision for Prospector Mate is to continue growing with the prospecting community by adding new features, historical points of interest, and practical tools that make every trip into the bush more enjoyable, whether you come home with a pocket full of gold or simply another great story to tell.
We hope Prospector Mate becomes a trusted companion on your next adventure.
Happy prospecting, Sean & Ed
Prospector Mate is built on open map and survey data from government agencies and the open-map community.
