Dredging in Australia for recreational activities IS illegal..

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I came across a Video on YouTube whilst looking for details/reviews on the Falcon MD-20 and watched one called using the Falcon MD-20 in the creek. The video is dated December 21, 2011 and the author is a bloke called crampo. At the start he pans the camera across the creek and says that he was dredging and his dredge pump was playing up so he decided to do some crevicing and panning. The guys got an Aussie accent and after watching a review he did of a detector, I saw that he is a retailer from GLENREAGH N.S.W . Now call me crazy, but putting a video out there for all to see, especially engaging in illegal activity, isn't that just sticking it up the governing body and saying "catch me if you can". Is it any wonder that prospectors get a bad wrap.

I haven't seen a response regarding a hand pump, ie: the gold n sand variety, so I would assume that it is fine as it is after all manually driven by physically pumping, but I had an idea about designing a small ( really small ) dredge nozzle for crevicing and the water supply would come from a spray bottle ( the pump up pressure type ) used for spraying. Considering I have to pump up the bottle to get the water to flow, would this be legal. I realize there is a fine line do be drawn, as I wont be physically drawing water straight from a creek to run the pump.
I'm slightly a little confused as to whether something is permissible if it is not automated ( as in mechanically driven ) like a petrol powered dredge pump.

I look forward to some input from you guys.
Sincerely
Jack
 
came across a few dams here in the NT.
The dams all appear to be man made.
In these DAM,s are floating pontoons, and sections of hose can be seen scattered all over the place.
it looks to me, that areas have been dug in the hill side. wet season comes, and presto, you have a dam, or tank. It looks very much like, "they" dredge the dams here.
Now, they are not creeks of rivers, they are man made, so illegal or legal?.....BTW, we don't need fossicking permits or licences in the NT any more.

Cheers Dave.
 
id be checking with NT gov mate, sometimes the pontoons are from settling ponds and running tailings into one then move to another etc. may ahve been mined under permit ??
 
liege69 said:
I came across a Video on YouTube whilst looking for details/reviews on the Falcon MD-20 and watched one called using the Falcon MD-20 in the creek. The video is dated December 21, 2011 and the author is a bloke called crampo. At the start he pans the camera across the creek and says that he was dredging and his dredge pump was playing up so he decided to do some crevicing and panning. The guys got an Aussie accent and after watching a review he did of a detector, I saw that he is a retailer from GLENREAGH N.S.W . Now call me crazy, but putting a video out there for all to see, especially engaging in illegal activity, isn't that just sticking it up the governing body and saying "catch me if you can". Is it any wonder that prospectors get a bad wrap.

I haven't seen a response regarding a hand pump, ie: the gold n sand variety, so I would assume that it is fine as it is after all manually driven by physically pumping, but I had an idea about designing a small ( really small ) dredge nozzle for crevicing and the water supply would come from a spray bottle ( the pump up pressure type ) used for spraying. Considering I have to pump up the bottle to get the water to flow, would this be legal. I realize there is a fine line do be drawn, as I wont be physically drawing water straight from a creek to run the pump.
I'm slightly a little confused as to whether something is permissible if it is not automated ( as in mechanically driven ) like a petrol powered dredge pump.

I look forward to some input from you guys.
Sincerely
Jack
Click to expand...


As for a response regarding hand tools I think one would be hard pressed to find an engineer that would not class some thing like this as a hand tool its not like you pump it once or twice and it keeps working :lol: not like the old motors I used to start with a crank handle now that would be mechanical and not classed as hand operated
1455340569_greencheeks_gold_nugget_recovery_unit_2.jpg
 
Recently saw a guy using a dredge nozzle off his high banker 2 weeks ago down at the oallen bridge, by the time I saw him he was almost up to his chest in the hole he had vacuumed. He just looked and continued. I was too worried about my mate who had just gone down the little waterfall/Rapids 100m up the river who was then clinging onto a tree with the car keys on hand. Safe to say the first thing I did when he stuck his hand out to me before going down was to p*#% myself laughing and offer no help in fear of joining him in that fast moving current.
He survived but was quite the laugh. Wasn't so funny the sunburn we got though trying to help him back across.
 
The word dredge! To me the word dredge generally is used to describe an activity in which gold recovery is conducted. Is using a dredge legal? This you would have to check with your states mining department but remember that the word dredge is a generalization of an activity you must find out the fine print in the ruling. As an example I have quite often seen it written that using a crevice pump is quite legal that it is a hand tool only and not mechanically driven. Unlike most laws the dredging law has no grey areas it is black and white. I would recommend you check your states law as to just what part of the Eductor dredge is outlawed and what is not.
 
i was driving over oallen ford bridge a couple of weeks back and seen 4 guys with a dredge working the edge of the gravel bar under the bridge where the old road used to be but who do you call on a sunday afternoon to report that type of thing?? i've also heard by word of mouth down there whilst highbanking that people are going there dredging during the night and are packed up and gone by day break is there a number of a local ranger that anyone has because the last thing anyone on this forum needs is to be stopped from accessing areas because of other peoples stupidity....
 
ballaratgold said:
Lol. The trommel screen is still in good shape! They should restore it and put it out on a lake or river system to show our history... Would be good for a tourist attraction too...
Click to expand...

Thats something i keep telling people ....the schools should be teaching our Gold rush history more often and the local councils should be restoring the old machinery to proudly show for the tourist locally and globally.
 

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