Is anyone else fustrated they can’t go have a weeknd pan at your local river.. Stay out of trouble get excersize make a few buddies
I do understand having rules is healthy and letting the big guys fill their pockets more is a must..
But the thousands you need to recreationaly pan with out driving to one of the over exploited ‘few’ recreational spots is just far.. Far…to rediculously expensive.. why not at least do day lisences like say fresh water fishing and quite possibly put more money back into conservation etc
Anyways what repercussions are to be expected if your caught with a bucket and pan on public land respectfully distancing yourself from private claims
is the first noodle head to see you having some wholesome fun going to report you?
Rules are made for a reason & when it comes to looking for gold it is usually a small handful that ruin it for the majority as with gold human greed knows no bounds. Even with rules you can see a lot of “damage” done. There are the tree hugging frog arse licking type that would love to dob you in. Unfortunately. You aren’t the first & won’t be the last with your frustration.
Not legal advice, but I find this topic interesting and have a couple of points to make.
I believe that individual property rights should be respected, i.e. the rights of those who have a mining permit.
The rules and regulations do make a distinction between “gold fossicking” and “mining”, but say that gold fossicking can only be done within a gold fossicking area
The penalties under the act are serious, but really are aimed at Tier 2 “commercial miners, or those illegally mining in national parks
Recently on this site a member mentioned that Crown Minerals Enforcement Officers had caught up with someone using a small dredge in the public fossicking on the Arrow, the outcome nothing but a warning!
Rationale for regulating/risks of not regulating - This involves very small amounts of mineral, and the impacts and risks of injury are very low. Regulation is not warranted.
Offences and penalties - The regulator is mostly reliant on tip offs from the public, landowners/administrators (including Department of Conservation (DoC)) and other permit holders. Only warnings tend to be issued, as infringement offences are not available. DoC has powers of seizure for illegally used machinery and has initiated some prosecutions for illegal mining in national parks.
Therefore, the large penalties mentioned above by ChiefKeef, can only be imposed after a successful court prosecution. Does anyone believe that anyone would be prosecuted for just going gold panning!
In summary, as long as you respect individual property rights, respect the environment (don’t go crazy digging huge holes) I don’t really see the problem, and if queried by a greenie just state that you aren’t gold fossicking you are looking for lead, removing it from rivers and streams.
The problem is that when it comes to gold human greed takes over & gold fever kicks in & the holes get bigger & deeper if the gold keeps coming. Do you think someone is going to stop & leave the gold for someone else if they think there hole is getting too big?
A few bits for a couple of hours detecting this arvo. Not a lot but at the crazy price of gold these days certainly worth it for a couple of hours walk.
The public fossicking areas are not exploited- They have very good gold. Take for example the arrow - Its loaded. Im not sure what you are expecting.
Secondly I keep on hearing about how expensive it is- Its not!. A claim is $3450 inc for a tier 3. Golds at 230/gram. If you do 1 gram per week in approx. 15 weeks you’ve paid the thing off.
Thirdly - There are some very generous offers on this forum of guys with claims that have offered people to come and pan. These are what you’d call the big boys who have spent considerable amounts of money for you to get a free ride.
Im sorry I dont see what your issue is here. What I do see is a whole lot of people expecting to freeload and have high levels of entitlement. If as you say community is important and you want to make some buddies can I make a suggestion- How about you get the gorse out of your pockets, ask a few guys who maybe are cash strapped and put in a communal claim and spread the cost.
That way you get the best of both worlds.
Reading the last part of your comment around “hypothetical getting caught scenarios” tells me a lot about your intentions.
Thank-you for contributing to the discussion and for making an assumption regarding my intentions!
If you re-read my comment, you will see that my opening point was that “property rights should be respected, i.e. the rights of those who have a mining permit”.
The original post from Aaron was about “Recreational Panning” and the “inability” to have a weekend pan in your local river.
There are only 5 areas where you can fossick for gold in Otago and for many these are many hours’ drive away.
Otago is a large area with many unclaimed rivers/streams/creeks, and the question is should an individual be able to pan in one of these?
Yes, there are many on this site who have made generous offers for other to come and have a pan, and not everyone who asks for this privilege is freeloading or has a high level of entitlement. I am sure many of those who have taken up such offers who be prepared to pay for this privilege.
Yes, the Tier 3 permits are much more financially attainable but in obtaining a claim you are locationally bound. That’s fine if you are more driven by the financial benefits of gold mining.
But if your focus is more of a recreational focus, happy just to explore the region and get a bit of colour then your options are restricted.
Maybe the solution is for the government to create a lot more Gold Fossicking areas, thus giving individuals more options and taking the “pressure” off existing claim owners being frequently asked for permission to their claims.
Lastly for the record, I am not driven by the gold fever, I have never sold any of the gold I have found (11 grams over 1 to 2 trips per year over 10 years) just enjoy getting out and enjoying the outdoors, if I find some colour fantastic, if not I still had a good time.
I highly doubt anyone has a problem with you, more that this question has been asked and rehashed dozens of times, and it wears very thin after a while. Good luck for the summer ahead!
There are also some that offer nothing. Not even food when they come & stay on the claim for a number of days. But live off the food of the claim holders. Find gold, in some cases pretty good amounts of gold & offer nothing of that in the way of appreciation & thanks. Then have the audacity to want to come back. No fucken thanks to that, not going to happen.
You’ve completely missed the point.. Recreational not for profit *
For fun..
Il just fly to Queenstown every weeknd.. I’m on the otherside of the country where in fact there is no fossicking areas
$3450 is a major amount of money to spend
To give something a go
Calling finding tiny amounts of gold in your local river entitlement is wild.. you’ve misread what I’m trying to put foward
That’s awesome and what I’m about they are not the big boys.. they are legends I’m more so pointing at the fact the crown owns every spec of gold not on a claim and money’s to be made through that.. At the expense of people having some fun
Free ride? Yes some freedom would be nice… what I’m trying to say is the rules are to tight
And the fines are to big the question is how serious do inforcers take people ignoring the rules.. From what I’ve heard recently from a few hunting shops and talking with a few doc members.. No one cares typically..
Yes I probably will continue to pan the occasional river.. Respectfully
The 3k cost you mention as too much money for a fun fossicking is just the start of the costs. In regards to no one caring, it’s just a matter of if and when you come to the attention of the wrong person or department. Sure, go for it but you’ll need to be discreet as everyone has a camera these days, and there’s Karen’s all over the show that will beg to differ. I guess the go is start small. Try the public areas. As mentioned already they all have some sort of gold even if it’s not going to pay much but you never know. Over the years I’ve taken lots of people out to fossick. To be honest many are keen as but it only takes some sun, some sandflies, and no luck and you then never see them on the river again. Those that get the fever soon find out what it’s about. Some get beginners luck but all find out how much work it takes to fill that little bottle. Everyone’s excited to see your gold but often they have no idea of the effort it takes. The rules may suck, but they are there to stop a total free for all. It would be great to have a miners right like in Australian states but bear in mind there are still a raft of regs to keep people in line. It’s just up to the individual to choose their approach and see where it leads. Nz is a small place though and not much goes unnoticed. Most gold bearing areas have some sort of claim too so a lot of it is self regulated amongst the mining community. I know it’s a huge leap up to get a claim. One option if you stick to it and go serious is to lease a claim, or a section of one for a season. See where it leads and if you choose to stick to it. To make a go of it you really need to be able to drop your work commitments to get away when the weather is good. Being nz the seasons limit your time in the water. It’s good fun if you stick to it. But really it’s about enjoying the outdoors and appreciating it. Who knows you might discover an interest in geology, history, fish or plants. You might even end up doing the you tube thing like a few guys do. Worth every cent of the fees charged. Plus if you find some gold you might even cover gas or your gear purchases haha.
Awesome input mate.. Yep nature lover here i just enjoy the adventure.. The pans found a place in my backpack yep gotta respect the land and be discreet. I really have no plan of any major operation as some seem to think haha unfortunately time gets sucked up by work another reason why even having the energy to find a river to claim is just to far fetched
Don’t overthink it, it’s like crossing the white line, you’re not meant to do it but you do all day long. Give it a go, when you go too big you’ll get a smack. Rightly so.
