Using a dredge in Australia for recreational prospecting is illegal - information and questions

While doing a bit of internet (window) shopping, I came across an Australian website selling 2" and 4" backpack dredges.

I was under the impression that dredging was not legal in Australia. Can anyone clarify this for me?

Cheers
Bernadette

Correct. However it is NOT against any law to build or import and sell a dredge in Au. You must keep in mind that a lot of these units are not sold here, but are sold to other countries.

If I was to build trommels would it be my job to find out if the person buying my product was only going to use it in accordance with the letter of the law??

I mentioned the latter because I have almost finished my water powered backpack trommel prototype and as I'm in Queensland I'm not allowed to use it here so selling it will be my best option, and as such I will not be conducting an interview of the perspective buyer.

Hope this helps.

Yes it does, thanks for that Goldagettin.

Isn't that a big nono, both the dredge and the river?

Some bloke selling nuggets "dredged from loddon" and dredges on feebay.

Maybe referring to the Shire of Loddon.
The Loddon Shire covers an area of approximately 6,700 square kilometres making it the seventh largest municipality (in area) in Victoria

http://www.loddon.vic.gov.au/

Dredging in Vic is a big NONO anyway.

Talking about the Loddon River, not shire, if memory serves it's on the no go list.

If he is in fact selling nuggets from dredging i would steer clear of purchasing any, certainly dont want to help promote illegal mining.
do you have a link to his site........and what is feebay, or is it a typo?

feebay is slang for eBay

Goldagettin said:

feebay is slang for eBay

Click to expand...

Yeah rite...thanks mate

Yeah, ebay.

grinds my gears it does.

TheSilentBugler said:

Yeah, ebay.

grinds my gears it does.

Click to expand...

Perhaps it is gold that dredge pre 1990,I know a lot of people did not sell their gold,so I would say no crime has been committed.

that guy is a pain in the ass, he comes up all the time he sells "dredging" equipment to people that never shows up, he contracts work and doesn't pay and i believe the tax department have been after him for some time. hes just leach

This isn't the first post I've read about this. All i can say is
A. Hope he cops the right whack if he is contributing to dredging and profiting from it
B. If his finds are legit well good luck to him, but as for the equipment it's a bit of an issue but it's like owning a bong shop and if everyone did the right thing he would go bust.

you are legal if you use the pump to supply water to the sluice and feed it by hand eg a shovel etc but you cant use a suction device such as a dredge

To whoever has been dredging NE Tasmanian creeks: If you're reading this, several of us have noticed some of the serious work that's been done up there. MRT are on the case as well. Thank you for screwing it up for the rest of us. Some of the work done in some of the smaller creeks in the last 12 months would have taken 20 years digging by hand.

One of the creeks well known for larger sapphires has been completely vacuumed clean. In some sections 20-30 meters of creek have had all the rocks neatly stacked to the side and the creek dredged right to the bedrock. Shame on you. It's fu#$!ng heartbreaking.

A!@#holes.

Back packers, commin in by plane and raping the gems right out of the originies hands

"DOUCHEBAGS!!!!!!"