Hi All, The current Government are proposing changes to the CMA (Crown Minerals Act) that will impact All Mining and extraction operations.
If you would like to learn more about this and make a submission one of the best places to review is:
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There are some good things to come out of this potentially and that is appointment of an Arbitrator to help with land access issues on private property for mining. Im guessing the powers of this will be binding?
Also making the annual summaries electronic is a good idea
I see they are looking at making it easier to issue fines- I hope this applies to people that dredge on other peoples claims without permission
I also see they are looking at issues fines for not sending your annual summary report in time- I think thats a great idea . With my current claim ive lodged there was significant delay with MBIE with the processing of this due to lazy people not sending in there ASR. Good move I say
Looks like a lot of the direction of this document is pushing for better compliance within the industry more with the big miners (Tier 1) and not so much the hobby guys. The IWI and community involvement is just tokenism but I am worried of what “public engagement” actually looks like when push comes to shove? - Need better clarity of what this means
There is also quite a bit of change for the petroleum sector- Im not surprised with this but this doesn’t effect us
Extra environmental and Health and Safety compliance but only for Tier 1 permits so most of us are not affected
I will be making a submission on the public consultation, knowing how forest & tweety bird operate, this can only be bad bad bad for the mining industry, as mining applications will then have to go thru two tiers of public consultation, one at permit application, and then again for RC if one is required. Tweety birds should not be able to get two bites of the cherrie.
I do wonder where we are headed with the gold dredging / detecting / fossicking / mining in this country. It seems to get harder to get anything anything out of the ground with each passing year. Yet our modern lifestyle demands more and more resources… We (people as a whole, largely pushed by a vocal minority) are happy to have it come from someone else’s backyard where we can’t see the impact.
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Every Industry is facing more and more compliance. Councils are shifting the responsibilities from themselves to the operators etc, but keep the right of charging the bucks $$$$$.
Couldnt agree more golden-eel, hobby miners need to do what every other interest group does and pass the hat around where everyone contributes to fund a planner to represent their interests at any plan change in the south island or mining rights will be eroded. The Queenstown plan hearing and mediation is a good example where the shit seriously hit the fan and most sat back doing nothing. I spent more time in mediation representing you QLDC miners than my own employer. You can be sure, apathy will ensure mining compliance will hurt your hobbies and cost a lot more financially than having a planner on a retainer to act when needed.
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What you say is right Mangrove. Just not sure myself how to set up something like this and how to ensure enough people contribute financially to make it work. While in in tasman, otago and the west coast the focus is more on maintaining dredging as a permitted activity where I live we currently require RC. So it would be an entirely different kettle of fish to get this changed. Also current evidence suggests that there is quite a bit opposition from the local council here.
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There is a suggestion of starting a dredging association. That could be a way to manage all these issues. In terms of costs to a planner it would (looking across westland, otago and Marlborough) simply mean a watch on plan changes and then a responce in a submission and mediation. Very rarely, if ever would we want it to go to court. The qldc mediation was a good example of the process and that was mostly due to dave despite not putting in a submission got approval from the courts to enter the process late based on the appeal notice i wrote for him. Realistically dredgers as a group would have to collectivly put in 3k every two years to cover those regions or we could pass the hat around as needed. Based on my observations so far, few would sign up to give their cash away however…
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The main review points that I see will impact gold dredging and grass roots prospecting are:
- Review of the current CMA Statement: The current Government has made it clear they want to make a fundamental shift away from the current legislation to that which promotes a “sustainable and inclusive economy”. They have already begun phasing out offshore Oil and Gas, and made a statement that there will be “no new mines on conservation land”.
Personally I have no problem with moving towards a “sustainable and inclusive economy” but the current government appears to be proposing this shift with a large dose of ignorance and hypocrisy. As they have yet to address that the impact of this shift, will drive demand for elements that are critical for building “green” technology, and currently these all come from the earth and are all mined.
The bigger picture here is that if the current CMA statement is changed to something more “green” or restrictive, then future extraction operations could well be stifled because they do not “align” with the purpose of the CMA.
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Community participation - Hard to say what this will finally look like, but there is some discussion around enabling the public to review and oppose all permit applications (inc dredging) during the initial application phase.
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Compliance and Technical amendments - Many of these have been on the cards for some time and in my view will mostly benefit the industry.
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Agree with you
Im not sure why this govt in so anti Gas as it is the perfect transition fuel towards a lower carbon future.
NZ has plenty of known reserves with the potential for great benefit.
My submission will ask that community participation will be exempt for the hobby guys
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Can I say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has made a contribution to this thread.
For keeping us up to date on these changes and making submissions etc.
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You guys know your stuff, it’s way over my head
How about someone do a change.org to get signatures underway. If everyone in paydirt signed and for their friends and families to sign then that’s a great start then get sharing on social media.
It would show that even people not directly impacted are against any changes that could hurt the average kiwi putting a shovel In the dirt
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I agree , looks like more red tape for the hobby guy
and all clear for the foreign corporations
any idea who “oceana” mining is owned by