Victoria - use of machinery when detecting

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We own a block of land in Victoria which used to be a goldfield back in the 1860s. I am trying to rehabilitate the land ( fill in the sinkholes etc) but would obviously want to detect the dirt I shift to offset the cost ( and find giant nuggets ha ha). I have a miners right but it specifies hand tools only. Can I legally prospect the material I move or remove to fill in the holes? Do I need any further paperwork or permissions?
 
What is a prospecting licence? I have never heard of it. Is it obtained from DELWP?
 
Your a lucky man :Y: you could just spread out the dirt and leave it to settle for a while then detect it, can't see any reason why you can't. Whereas if you process it as you move it then you might find yourself in a spot of bother if questioned and as stated you would need a licence. As far as I know there's no definitive guidelines to say it can't be moved /spread out and no similar guidelines to say once it's been done and left for a while it can't be detected. Once you've done it if you choose to do it then leave it for a while longer and then push it in to the holes.

Grey is grey and only varies in shade according to someone's opinion.
 
Rockhunter62 said:
If it was me and I was rehabilitating my land, I would fill the holes in layers, a bit one day then walk over it the next day with your detector while it was settling.

Cheers

Doug

You would then have fence jumpers and moonlighters as nothing ever goes unnoticed as unfair as It is. Good luck with it anyway and hope there a few nuggets still there.

GT :)
 
Very interesting Question, I think you are ok if you get a mate to do the detecting. that is what i would do anyway. take plenty of before and after shots in case some one does you in later , so you can prove your intention. chances are nothing will happen

a number of PMAV members and i went on a "help out a farmer day" in Goldsborough and that is exactley what happened. the farmer moved dirt on a tractor to reclaim land pockmarked by diggers holes. there were detectorists everywhere.
i think it was sanctioned by PMAV but don't quote me.
 
As far as I am aware all minerals in Australia belong to the Crown, Pastural Leases are just that, there is no "right" to the minerals.

There are however a very few land leases that were issued with mineral rights, a few existed along the Sevens River near Stanthorpe Qld, I think there were only about 5 to 10 leases issues for the purpose of alluvial tin mining.

The reason we have Departments on Mines and Energy in each state is to control who is able to mine those minerals and where those minerals can and cannot be mined.

Each State has it's own stringent rules and regulations that need to adhered to and applied before a Mining Tenure can be issued, this must be accompanied with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approval.
In Queensland its an EA (Environmental Authority). This is governed by strict terms and conditions including dust suppression, noise and many other requirements, the amount of ground you are allowed to disturb each year and rehabilitation targets to be met, snap inspections etc..

If you are intending to obtain some sort of income from what you find ( In most cases) you should have a Production Permit for a Mining Tenement. Talk to the authority responsible for minerals in your State or Territory before going gang busters with machinery.

The freedom we have to be able to swing a detector in some areas in Australia and keep what we find is a privilege and should not be taken for granted.

If anyone intends using mechanical equipment to move ground in the search for gold on their own property or elsewhere , is running the risk of big fines and confiscation of all equipment in some States.
Such a practice could Jeopardise the privileges of the electronic prospecting fraternity for everyone.

I showed a friend visiting from Botswana a small vial with a few grams of gold I had panned over the years, he informed me if I was in Botswana I could be arrested for having that small amount of gold.
Please don't take gold fossicking freedom in Australia for granted or we too my lose another privilege.
 
Dbooth. My story. On the farm in Ballarat I can dig a dam for stock. Or clean up old mullock heaps, run the detector over it.
It's only then if you found some gold, you need a miners right. To sell it. If you are lucky and found a vein then that's mining. Completely different problem.
 
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