Prospector lives for last big find
He was once worth millions and has done more than 50 deals with mining companies, dealing directly with business heavyweights such as Andrew Forrest.
Yet today, he lives and works out of his 1991 Daihatsu van.
Meet Bill Richmond - one of WA's last true prospectors.
When The West Australian tracked down Mr Richmond at his western suburbs camp, the scene was slightly bizarre.
Under pine trees in a suburb with million-dollar houses, Mr Richmond stood next to his mobile office/bedroom sifting through one of hundreds of files that detail his land holdings.
As an "archetypal gypsy", he is not used to visitors.
His arm stretches out tentatively for a handshake: "How the hell did you find me?"
But he is more than willing to open up about his unique lifestyle and career. You see, Mr Richmond, 69, is an enigma.
Each year he lives for four months in the Kimberley "sleeping under the stars", the rest is in and out of Perth at "secret" locations near the beach.
But it is not as if he was forced into this life - he prefers it.
"I like the fresh air," he said. "And if I spend the rest of my life travelling out of a wagon, I'll be quite happy."
Bill Richmond. Picture: Steve Ferrier/The West Australian
He does not mention family, saying women only got in the way of his prospecting.
And he does not own a phone: "I had one 10 years ago but I felt a burning sensation in my ear, so I left it on a table at a cafe."
The only real way to contact him is email, which he accesses at backpacker hostels or an office supplies store.
And though Mr Richmond has held shares in mining companies that, at one point, were worth almost $15 million, he has never been a true millionaire.
As a prospector seeking that elusive "next big find", he plugs all his money back into buying prospective WA tenements.
Mr Richmond's business is fairly simple: like the hundreds of small companies in West Perth, he sifts through geological maps of WA and applies to lease a parcel of land from the State Government for a nominal fee.
If it proves valuable, he sells the lease to a mining company, usually in the form of a joint venture.
Mr Richmond is well known around West Perth's mining houses and in boom times has acted like a travelling tenement salesman, knocking on company doors offering land for sale.
The obvious difference is those West Perth companies have shareholders and access to debt and equity - Mr Richmond has only himself.
"It's hard," he said. "In this game you lose 99 per cent of the time. I might get a cheque but they can be four years apart."
Mr Richmond has been living and working like this, on-and-off, for almost 30 years.
In that time he claims he has done more than 50 deals and had a hand in developing three mines. Of those deals, he said, five failed "because there's no honour, they all just try to screw you".
He also recognises his reputation in WA's tight-knit mining community as a man who "doesn't give in to arseholes".
And lately more of his time is spent in courts fighting mining companies that he says have forced him to the brink of bankruptcy. And with all that trouble, he believes it will spell the demise of an important part of WA history: the end of the prospector
"It's all corporatised now," he said. "There's not going to be any room for us any more, there's hardly anyone doing it full-time.
"In Kalgoorlie there's still a few prospectors, but I reckon most of them would have full-time jobs."
Mr Richmond has had many opportunities to cash out for the good life. So why keep going?
"I don't know how many years I've got left, but I want to produce something of real wealth - then I'll indulge in the comforts," he said.
"It's like searching for the Holy Grail. It's never-ending."
