Unclear laws in NSW .

I was going to make a jig with cam setup to process material by hand but after reading the NSW laws of what's not allowed , _ the exact wording below , I see the word mechanical !

Power-operated equipment cannot be used on land or in waters for surface disturbance, excavation or
processing. Power operated equipment includes mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, battery and
electrical equipment or machinery

So I looked up mechanical & got this :-
Mechanical system, a system that manages power to accomplish a task that involves forces and movement .

So it seems whatever I make can be deemed mechanical & thus be illegal ?
What worries me is if I go to the trouble & expense of making a device for resale it wont sell .

Imagine asking the relevant authorities for a clear yes or no answer to this after suppling a diagram '''

After reading the regs after getting gold fever again....
I find blanket bans over processes that cover an extremely wide range....
Talk about suck the fun out of fossicking...ooops...Suck and fossicking probably cannot be used in same sentence.

The following are things that can get you into strife....if the powers that be want to exercise ruling with an iron fist

Power dredges.
Gravity dredges
Power Vacuums.
Powered dryblowers
Hand powered suction devices (yabby pumps and offshoot ideas) Mechanical and hydraulics/pneumatics
Trommels of any type. (Powered by engine or hand makes no difference...as they are mechanical)
Using a detector ( electrical ) to test for nuggets in the rejected classifier material of highbankers etc.
Using any power driven shakers in highbankers
Spray bars in sluices, highbankers. (Changing the pressure of the water by the way of small holes in the pipe is Hydraulics.)

Even snuffer bottles for clearing out your pan can be deemed against the rules. (Hydraulics on a small scale)
Even using riffles in a sluice or highbanker is using hydraulics.

If the powers that be wanted to crack down to the letter of the law....
What do we have left?...Shovel, pick, pan, crevicing hand tools, pump(from water act)

On top of that
A lot of gold areas taken over by NPWS....so they can be....what?....taken over by nature and never be seen again....how stupid grrr.

sorry...end of rant

Angry Horse

Thanks for your comments Horse .

It's incredible that we put up with such ambiguity regarding our prospecting laws , we are the tax paying citizens who are the back bone of this country !!

STUFF those dole bludging parasites who swarm around the greens !

Hi Outback and Horse,
These acts and regulations are loaded with muddy water and grey areas and open to interpretation however an enforcement officer feels on the day and depending on the circumstances.

Cheers, SinHof.

SinHof said:

Hi Outback and Horse,
These acts and regulations are loaded with muddy water and grey areas and open to interpretation however an enforcement officer feels on the day and depending on the circumstances.

Cheers, SinHof.

Click to expand...

Hello SinHof ,

If ever I get fronted by one of those officers he or she better know the rules Perfect with no grey ! :lol:

I noticed Tasmania has the worst rules for prospectors of all the States , it's also got the worst unemployment record also ~ The home of the Greens !
If we sold it for 2.3 $ trillion that would give the 23 million main land Aussies a $ million each .
If you think that figure outrageous it's what Italy is in the Red for approximately .

Hi Outback,
Its a sad state of affairs in this state (NSW) that you almost have to have law degree and carry a briefcase full of documents dealing with all of the acts and regulations to cover yourself when fronted by a ranger et al.
These days most of my prospecting is done with a metal detector and therefore dont have as much in the way of regulations to worry about compared to those who enjoy wet prospecting.
I still have fairly vivid memories of having a toe-to-toe with Nundle Guy while wet prospecting a couple of years back. Like most folk here when out in the bush prospecting you like to have your mind on what youre doing and not worrying about being hassled by an official given that you are working within those vague regulations.
Cheers, SinHof.

I think technically shovels are out too unless you only intend to scrape surfaces with it (not use it for leverage).

If you stick your shovel into the ground and lever back on it to remove soil or rocks the leverage exerted is by mechanical advantage.

See Mechanical Advantage and Leverage
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_advantage

Mining Regulation 2010 said:

Part 2 Prospecting and mining generally
12 Fossicking
(2) A person must not carry out work that includes any of the following activities for the purpose of fossicking:
(c) the use of power-operated equipment for the purpose of surface disturbance, excavation or processing on any land,
(3) In this clause:
power-operated equipment means any equipment powered by mechanical or electrical means.

Click to expand...

A shovel, while giving you mechanical advantage, is neither powered by electrical or mechanical means I.e no mechanical or electrical means are supplying the input power.
Hand/hand powered tools & metal detectors are fine in NSW.
Use the NSW Fossicking guidelines as just that guidelines. If you want your legally enforceable rights/responsibilities read/learn the relevant sections of the relevant Acts & Regulations.
IMO the guidelines are poorly written & poorly reflect the intention of the Acts & Regulations but thats just my opinion. I have dealt with NSW mining legislation for around 15 years & I am very comfortable with my interpretation/s but it is an individual thing I guess.

mbasko said:

Mining Regulation 2010 said:

Part 2 Prospecting and mining generally
12 Fossicking
(2) A person must not carry out work that includes any of the following activities for the purpose of fossicking:
(c) the use of power-operated equipment for the purpose of surface disturbance, excavation or processing on any land,
(3) In this clause:
power-operated equipment means any equipment powered by mechanical or electrical means.

Click to expand...

A shovel, while giving you mechanical advantage, is neither powered by electrical or mechanical means I.e no mechanical or electrical means are supplying the input power.
Hand/hand powered tools & metal detectors are fine in NSW.
Use the NSW Fossicking guidelines as just that guidelines. If you want your legally enforceable rights/responsibilities read/learn the relevant sections of the relevant Acts & Regulations.
IMO the guidelines are poorly written & poorly reflect the intention of the Acts & Regulations but thats just my opinion. I have dealt with NSW mining legislation for around 15 years & I am very comfortable with my interpretation/s but it is an individual thing I guess.

Click to expand...

mbasko what are your thoughts on pumps for high bankers after your dealing with authorities?? I am a real keen fisherman as well so I always set up well back off the flowing water so that all my silts settle out before my water gets back to the creek and dirties it up even if I have to carry my dirt in buckets away from where im digging I do this so I turn the river all silty. surely if I go to that amount of trouble they wouldnt worrie me to much :/ ? what do you reckon?