Blockquote “This is for all the cowboys shot in all the John Ford westerns”
-Clint Eastwood
Why is gold panning so limited in NZ with only 17 places and being illegal to pan at any beach even if there maybe no gold there ? You can’t even take a metal detector in these places without getting your hand smacked and all your gear & car taken away. Not to mention a $200,000 fine which doesn’t seem to differentiate between individuals and companies which is why the law is useless. I get it that there are a tiny few knowing illegally mining on claims but those few shouldn’t ruin it for the rest of us who just want to strike some good gold!
I want to do a opinion poll to see how many people on here would be keen to see these outdated laws shaken up to allow more freedom of gold panning in more spots ? You can’t even pan at a local beach due to maoris claiming rights over the seabed and foreshore.
It seems a bit absurd to have these outdated laws under the Crown Minerals Act which basically screws anyones adventure. Is it due to whiny green liberals wanting to stop gold panning and mining all together ? Who else finds all the hoops and red tape that we have to jump through and over ridiculous with such expensive mining permits ?
Shane Jones said last year “Currently under the Crown Minerals Act, the same regulatory burden for a medium-sized opencast mine is applied to a hobbyist who wants to use a small suction dredge to look for gold in a river"
