Solomon great work was done by Ando and a few others to get these areas opened but didn't this happen over 9 months ago?
QLD Fossicking Laws!!!
- Thread starter rc62burke
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Solomon 009
Paul
Don't get me wrong I'm not having a go at anyone, who worked on getting new area's for prospecting.
Other than the mining dept. here in QLD, what they told me is Different to what is in the new legislation, so when I go out and prospect who do I listen to the law makers or the people who are police-ing it. No wonder no-one who is supposed to know, knows what the F@&% is going on.
It makes you wonder if anyone knows what is right or wrong.
Cheers all ..........Paul
Other than the mining dept. here in QLD, what they told me is Different to what is in the new legislation, so when I go out and prospect who do I listen to the law makers or the people who are police-ing it. No wonder no-one who is supposed to know, knows what the F@&% is going on.
It makes you wonder if anyone knows what is right or wrong.
Cheers all ..........Paul
I was about to reply with these rules about sluices and highbankers as I was certain they existed, only to find that they have disappeared
I have only applied for my fossicking license 2 weeks ago and the site stated clearly: nothing mechanical, no sluices, no highbankers. However, I also noticed there were 2 conflicting pages, both originating from the Department of Natural resources and mines. One site didn't exclude highbankers or sluices, just said "no machinery", the other explicitly mentioned and excluded the use of sluices and highbankers.
The latter page has disappeared completely when I tried accessing it today to read the rules and regulations again.
The still existing page says (http://www.qld.gov.au/recreation/activities/fossicking/rules/permitted-activities/):
It doesn't explicitly forbid, or even mention, sluices. I'm on the fence about a highbanker, as it may/could be seen as machinery. Then again, you fill it by hand...
The page that disappeared is www.mines.industry.qld.gov.au/mining/fossicking.htm* This page, or one of is subpages, clearly stated that the use of highbankers AND sluices wasn't allowed.
*The disapearence of this page can be explained by a recent change of rules and consecutive updates of the webpages, including cleaning up the old, obsolete and duplicate pages. Another explanation is that I can't see this page for now because my internet provider is messing with their DNS servers again...
I have only applied for my fossicking license 2 weeks ago and the site stated clearly: nothing mechanical, no sluices, no highbankers. However, I also noticed there were 2 conflicting pages, both originating from the Department of Natural resources and mines. One site didn't exclude highbankers or sluices, just said "no machinery", the other explicitly mentioned and excluded the use of sluices and highbankers.
The latter page has disappeared completely when I tried accessing it today to read the rules and regulations again.
The still existing page says (http://www.qld.gov.au/recreation/activities/fossicking/rules/permitted-activities/):
Queensland Government said:
It doesn't explicitly forbid, or even mention, sluices. I'm on the fence about a highbanker, as it may/could be seen as machinery. Then again, you fill it by hand...
The page that disappeared is www.mines.industry.qld.gov.au/mining/fossicking.htm* This page, or one of is subpages, clearly stated that the use of highbankers AND sluices wasn't allowed.
*The disapearence of this page can be explained by a recent change of rules and consecutive updates of the webpages, including cleaning up the old, obsolete and duplicate pages. Another explanation is that I can't see this page for now because my internet provider is messing with their DNS servers again...
I was going to print out the page with the rules I liked the best and staple that to my permit. At least that way I could show that I intended to follow those law/rules 
Anyway, gone is the page with the most prohibitive rules, but the new one leaves a lot of questions. To me that is a sign that your copy writer should be sent back to school, if your readers end up with more questions than they had before reading your text.
Anyway, gone is the page with the most prohibitive rules, but the new one leaves a lot of questions. To me that is a sign that your copy writer should be sent back to school, if your readers end up with more questions than they had before reading your text.
I have a lot of questions about the 'where' as well...
Ok this just got posted on another forum I am a member of:
Message Subject : Qld Fossicking Act has been ammended the changes are significant
Category : General Discussion
Posted by : busted knuckle mining
URL : http://queenslandprospectingclub.or...een-ammended-the-changes-are-significant/8372
Message :
-----
emailed and asked B) .
John
Sorry about the late reply.
Fossicking means using hand tools only.
Hand tools are defined as follows :
(a) a pick, shovel, hammer, sieve, shaker, or electronic
detector; or
(b) a tool declared by regulation to be a hand tool.
The fossicking Act, which is the legislation that fossicking licenses are issued under, specifically forbids the use of machinery.
Use of machinery etc. prohibited
A person fossicking under a licence must not use machinery
or equipment (other than a hand tool) to fossick.
Maximum penalty400 penalty units.
I believe a high banker to be machinery, which is prohibited under the Fossicking Act
Please call me if you have any questions.
Craig Watson
Senior Mining Registrar, Field and Land Access
Brisbane District Office
Mining and Petroleum Operations
Department of Natural Resources and Mines
Queensland Mineral and Energy Centre
Level 16, 61 Mary Street
Brisbane Qld 4000
PO Box 15216, City East Qld 4002
Phone: (07) 3199 7774 Fax: (07) 3405 5347
Email:
\n
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: www.dnrm.qld.gov.au
-----
Message Subject : Qld Fossicking Act has been ammended the changes are significant
Category : General Discussion
Posted by : busted knuckle mining
URL : http://queenslandprospectingclub.or...een-ammended-the-changes-are-significant/8372
Message :
-----
emailed and asked B) .
John
Sorry about the late reply.
Fossicking means using hand tools only.
Hand tools are defined as follows :
(a) a pick, shovel, hammer, sieve, shaker, or electronic
detector; or
(b) a tool declared by regulation to be a hand tool.
The fossicking Act, which is the legislation that fossicking licenses are issued under, specifically forbids the use of machinery.
Use of machinery etc. prohibited
A person fossicking under a licence must not use machinery
or equipment (other than a hand tool) to fossick.
Maximum penalty400 penalty units.
I believe a high banker to be machinery, which is prohibited under the Fossicking Act
Please call me if you have any questions.
Craig Watson
Senior Mining Registrar, Field and Land Access
Brisbane District Office
Mining and Petroleum Operations
Department of Natural Resources and Mines
Queensland Mineral and Energy Centre
Level 16, 61 Mary Street
Brisbane Qld 4000
PO Box 15216, City East Qld 4002
Phone: (07) 3199 7774 Fax: (07) 3405 5347
Email:
\n
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: www.dnrm.qld.gov.au
-----
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Hey Grant
Again it's still as grey as because he states "he believes a high banker to be machinery",
Does not state that it is machinery and nowhere in the act does it state that a highbanker is illegal.
If we are to believe this interpretation then may as well throw a sluice in the same bracket as the highbanker.
Like I've said in the other forum we have a few legal experts running their eyes over this but will be a little while until we have the consensus.
On another note, I gave up prospecting in Qld quite sometime ago, pretty much last time I saw you.
$25 for NSW state forest permit , 2.5hr drive and I'm on some very prosperous private land that's been producing good coarse and fine gold for quite sometime.
Doubt I'll ever dig in Qld again unless up the far north especially if the idiot do outlaw sluices and highbankers.
Again it's still as grey as because he states "he believes a high banker to be machinery",
Does not state that it is machinery and nowhere in the act does it state that a highbanker is illegal.
If we are to believe this interpretation then may as well throw a sluice in the same bracket as the highbanker.
Like I've said in the other forum we have a few legal experts running their eyes over this but will be a little while until we have the consensus.
On another note, I gave up prospecting in Qld quite sometime ago, pretty much last time I saw you.
$25 for NSW state forest permit , 2.5hr drive and I'm on some very prosperous private land that's been producing good coarse and fine gold for quite sometime.
Doubt I'll ever dig in Qld again unless up the far north especially if the idiot do outlaw sluices and highbankers.
Hey elrodeo I did the same I got my NSW permit and started to prospect over the border because of the draconian Qld laws. Then I had to head to Cairns for work so I am up in the gold country now looking for the mother load
It might be time to move interstate the way the Qld fossicking laws have gone. WA, VIC or NSW not sure which yet. Shame about all that Geotourism Qld will miss out on at least the other states will benefit from it.
Glad to hear you are on the gold, best of luck with it.
It might be time to move interstate the way the Qld fossicking laws have gone. WA, VIC or NSW not sure which yet. Shame about all that Geotourism Qld will miss out on at least the other states will benefit from it.
Glad to hear you are on the gold, best of luck with it.
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The amount of penalty units would worry me if caught doing the wrong thing in Qld since one penalty unit is $110 and the law says "A person fossicking under a licence must not use machinery or equipment (other than a hand tool) to fossick Maximum penalty400 penalty units" which totals out to 110 x 400 = $44,000 fine.
Also if found on occupied land such as someone's Mining Lease then that is 50 penalty units so you are hit with a $5,500 fine and more than likely a Mining Lease holder would have some type of hidden bush surveillance camera system.
Also if found on occupied land such as someone's Mining Lease then that is 50 penalty units so you are hit with a $5,500 fine and more than likely a Mining Lease holder would have some type of hidden bush surveillance camera system.
Current Legislation said:
This is the definition of fossick from the current legislation.
It does not refer to a Sluice, as a Sluice is not used to collect fossicking material.
It does not refer to a Highbanker, as a Highbanker is not used to collect fossicking material.
Current Legislation said:
Machinery must not be used to Fossick i.e. collect the material.
There is no mention of how you process this material.
If I choose to take buckets of fossicked materials home with me and process them or process them on site and run them through a Highbanker or Sluice to do so at that point I am not Fossicking (searching for or collecting material). I have already found the material and I am just processing it. If I wanted to do so I could just leave the fossicked materials sitting in the buckets for years in a shed, would I be breaking the law by doing that? What's the point in collecting the fossicked material if you aren't allowed to process it to receive the benefit of it? Does this mean if I pick up a gemstone out in the field and use a faceting machine to cut it or a grinding and sanding wheel to polish it to increase its value (i.e. process the material) I would be breaking the law? That would put a lot of jewellers out of business.
Fines are fair enough for people doing the wrong thing and ruining it for everyone but not for those trying to do the right thing and obey the laws and self regulate via Codes of Ethics like fill your holes, leave the site tidy the way you found it or better, etc.
Common sense must prevail we are not large mining concerns trying to gouge large holes in the ground like the super pits the best we can do under the act is a 2 metre deep hole and if you have ever dug one you will know how hard that is and that it's unlikely that 99% of people (hobbyists) covered by this legislation would ever dig one.
End of rant
G'day mate. I'm gunna take a punt here and say it's the same as a rocker box.
Google Gold Rocker Box, and click on images. The old timer gear will give you the idea. All the more modern looking stuff are just variations on the original theme.
Cheers, Ron.
Google Gold Rocker Box, and click on images. The old timer gear will give you the idea. All the more modern looking stuff are just variations on the original theme.
Cheers, Ron.
This is a shaker. Just put your sieves on top and gravel and shake.
I wanna have Bluetooth capability and a good sub-woofer as well. :lol:
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the politicians are only interested in coorporations with millions of dollars to spend (and donate to political campaigns), they dont want little joe fossicker finding and claiming possibly rich new ground, no money in that for campbell and co. qld prospectors really need to form a lobby group and chuck in a few bucks each to finance a campaign for us to get a fare go in queensland. most state forests i see in qld are under-utilised and over-run with weeds and feral critters, so what harm are a few prospectors gonna do?, ZIP. if anything, at least prospectors can report on weed and feral numbers to the local council of each area, helping them with pest management, win win as far as i can see. Anyway, we need to make some noise or nothing will change up here in the sunshine state, good digging, ND
NAPFA
NAPFA Official Representative
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Good to see Queenslanders getting stirred up to improve things there!
Over the past couple of years I've done two prospecting trips to FNQ for detecting. To be honest it was a mixed bag. There seemed to be very little publicly available land and you need to rely on landowner permissions which is very difficult for travellers, although not so bad for locals. I was really keen to do stuff in the Palmer but between pastoralists and small mining clams there was very little option even though the area is very large. So a quick look was it.
I was very impressed by the pay to prospect model used by properties around Georgetown and Forsayth. At least you are sure of getting onto decent ground without any fuss. And after a $1000 fuel bill, another $10-$15 a day seems small to the other costs.
Qld Government really should do more to encourage fossicking tourism. Why not turn the Palmer into a prospecting mecca by doing a deal with the landowners there to allow fossickers unfettered access? The area could certainly do with the stimulus.
In a recent submission to the NSW Crown Lands White paper NAPFA made the following suggestion that may be of some value:
NAPFA would support a rebate for properties which identify on a register as permitting recreational fossicking. This would be of value where the land in question has known fossicking reserves of gems or minerals. This would encourage landowners to permit access for fossickers.
While I appreciate the original post was about equipment, access is a vital issue for prospectors.
Good luck!
cheers
Stephen
President
NSW & ACT Prospectors and Fossickers Association Inc
Over the past couple of years I've done two prospecting trips to FNQ for detecting. To be honest it was a mixed bag. There seemed to be very little publicly available land and you need to rely on landowner permissions which is very difficult for travellers, although not so bad for locals. I was really keen to do stuff in the Palmer but between pastoralists and small mining clams there was very little option even though the area is very large. So a quick look was it.
I was very impressed by the pay to prospect model used by properties around Georgetown and Forsayth. At least you are sure of getting onto decent ground without any fuss. And after a $1000 fuel bill, another $10-$15 a day seems small to the other costs.
Qld Government really should do more to encourage fossicking tourism. Why not turn the Palmer into a prospecting mecca by doing a deal with the landowners there to allow fossickers unfettered access? The area could certainly do with the stimulus.
In a recent submission to the NSW Crown Lands White paper NAPFA made the following suggestion that may be of some value:
NAPFA would support a rebate for properties which identify on a register as permitting recreational fossicking. This would be of value where the land in question has known fossicking reserves of gems or minerals. This would encourage landowners to permit access for fossickers.
While I appreciate the original post was about equipment, access is a vital issue for prospectors.
Good luck!
cheers
Stephen
President
NSW & ACT Prospectors and Fossickers Association Inc
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thanks for your support stephen, is there such a thing as the australian prospectors and fossickers association? if not, maybe theres a need for one. collectively we might be able to shift mountains so to speak. if we could get uniform access and rights across the country then the geo-tourism that would create( and new access areas maybe) could be huge. a benefit to prospectors and the local communities in terms of tourism dollars. having such experience and knowledge, would you put your hand up for the role as pres? i will support you and im sure thousands more would also! cheers mate, keep up the good work, naildigger
NAPFA
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Naildigger,
That is a nice hole the ground in your picture.
Mate thanks for the big vote...I think I'll pass for now
the idea of a national group has a nice ring to it but the reality is that each state or territory has its own rules and the most efficient way to influence those rules is through a state/territory based organisation that can get close to the issues, understand them, and influence the right people to change things. And that seems to be what is happening where there is sufficient will.
Looking around -- there is APLA in WA -- been around for well over 100 years and does a great job. PMAV in Victoria been around since the 80s and a recognized voice of reason; NTPADAI (search this forum for contact details) has made the NT a great place to go;
NAPFA -- we're making progress but have only been around for two years; South Australia -- nothing so far as I know; Tasmania - nothing so far as I know; Queensland -- no recognized state representative group so far as I know. So there are some gaps.
Personally I don't think we will ever have uniform rules across Australia - our federation does not have a good history in this regard -- just look at the railways! And just about everything else! That said, it is useful for the different associations to keep track of what the others are up to and that happens informally. An idea was floated last year for a get together and it nearly got off the ground but ran out of steam and $$.
If you want to help - any anyone else reading this post -- please seek out the groups that represent your area and join them, support with ideas and enthusiasm and even some money because the representation work by the associations does cost money and that cost should be shared by the community that is benefiting rather than by the individuals who are putting in their time as volunteers.
Cheers
Stephen
President
NSW & ACT Prospectors and Fossickers Association
That is a nice hole the ground in your picture.
Mate thanks for the big vote...I think I'll pass for now
the idea of a national group has a nice ring to it but the reality is that each state or territory has its own rules and the most efficient way to influence those rules is through a state/territory based organisation that can get close to the issues, understand them, and influence the right people to change things. And that seems to be what is happening where there is sufficient will.
Looking around -- there is APLA in WA -- been around for well over 100 years and does a great job. PMAV in Victoria been around since the 80s and a recognized voice of reason; NTPADAI (search this forum for contact details) has made the NT a great place to go;
NAPFA -- we're making progress but have only been around for two years; South Australia -- nothing so far as I know; Tasmania - nothing so far as I know; Queensland -- no recognized state representative group so far as I know. So there are some gaps.
Personally I don't think we will ever have uniform rules across Australia - our federation does not have a good history in this regard -- just look at the railways! And just about everything else! That said, it is useful for the different associations to keep track of what the others are up to and that happens informally. An idea was floated last year for a get together and it nearly got off the ground but ran out of steam and $$.
If you want to help - any anyone else reading this post -- please seek out the groups that represent your area and join them, support with ideas and enthusiasm and even some money because the representation work by the associations does cost money and that cost should be shared by the community that is benefiting rather than by the individuals who are putting in their time as volunteers.
Cheers
Stephen
President
NSW & ACT Prospectors and Fossickers Association
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thanks stephen, you make some very valid points there regarding national entitys, being harder to manage, coordinate and unification of rules and regs etc. it would be nice though to get some balance of rules and regs across the states, at least the equipment we spend money on could be used in more than one state when we travel etc. i havent been prospecting for gold for very long, but ive always been a fossicker, after finding a stash of buried coins as a kid. since becoming more involved in prospecting, ive realised how tied up queensland really is, and its way behind other states as far as access to crown land, and use of equipment (sluices and dryblowers etc), but we have no representative body to work with government on our behalf. i think its high time that we qlds form a prospectors assoc. and if we could emulate your success in nsw, qld would be a greater place. thanks for your thoughts and comments stephen and hopefully, we'll see some stirings in the sunshine state , naildigger
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