Big hole outrage?

[Guest]

I personally try to backfill my holes in the river, and destroy my piles of sievings when after gemstones. No point giving away my secret spots. The way I see it, if I leave a massive hole, I'm practically screaming at the next fossicker to dig in my favourite spots.

That is a very, very valid point, nice one. Cheers Balx.

 

[Guest]

Dig a hole. Fill it in when your done. If your working a hole put some kind of rope,cord or a few dead logs around it. I think if you let others know your working a patch then a reasonable person wont claim jump you as they know the effort you have made. This should keep the tree huggers and farmers happy also as they should see tgat it was dug by a genuine fossicker and will be rehabilitaed in due course. Leaseholders do it. So should we.

Cheers Tone

I wonder if we all just stopped weather the Greenies would ever notice? I am yet to see one down by the river.

 

[raizo]

I don't get it. If we're all trying to hit bedrock in the middle of the creek, why do we need to fill it up? In QLD, you can dig upto half a meter deep in streams. Here's what the QLD Mines Dept says about fossicking:

Permitted activities and materials

Fossicking is a regulated activity in Queensland and requires a fossicking licence. This licence allows you to search for and collect fossicking materials using hand tools and for recreational, tourist or educational purposes only.

Permitted tools and extent of diggings
Hand tools such as picks, shovels, hammers, sieves, shakers, electronic detectors and other similar tools can be used. No machinery is permitted.

You can collect from the surface or by digging, but you are not permitted to dig below 2m of the natural ground surface of land or below 0.5m in streams. Overhangs and tunnels are not allowed.

On road reserves, no digging is permitted but collection from existing exposures is allowed.

 

[TenOunce Tone]

Existing exposure? Dig a hole. Drive away. Come back next day.. existing exposure?

 

[Guest]

The QLD Mines Dept. also says:
Fossicking in watercourses
On leaving, refill all excavations and place excess material so as to minimise disturbance to the channel and significant streamflows.

Do as you wish but rules are rules & refilling holes is a basic universal rule in each state. If you don't want to follow them its probably not good for anyone to post on an open public forum. Most of us probably bend or stretch them a bit but just don't openly discuss it on forums for anyone to see.

As for the greenies - of course they'd notice. Any other land that isn't being used or comes up as being handed back to crown lands etc. they try to get their hands on so why would fossicking land be any different?
I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall at VNPA headquarters when some of Vic's National Parks were opened up after their scare campaign using photos of previous damage done at 150 year old mining sites. That decision alone is good reason to try & play by the rules, especially in those areas. If it goes to shite in Victoria the rest of the country will have no chance of accessing them.

 

[casper]

Are we miners or a fossicker?

State mining regulations are there for a reason, If you want to dig a big hole apply for a mining lease or claim.

Fossicking privileges aren't supposed to give a person the rite to make an income, they are provisions made by the government to allow us to enjoy our hobby and we should be grateful for that freedom.

It's the guys that don't abide by or take time to study the regulations that put the lot of us at risk of loosing the freedom we enjoy.

That's basically the reason people get upset.

It only take a few complaints by property owners or environmentalists to upset the apple cart, so enjoy what we have and try not to spoil it for others.

Gold fever does funny things to people.

As its called a Miners rights in Victoria I guess I am a miner . And I have not read anything about hole size in the creek beds in any of the legislation, it is even pretty open about holes in the bush, eg- Restore the ground as you found it- backfill any holes you dig and replace any leaf litter as it was as soon as practicable. As for a freedom "given to us by the government" thats a funny statement in itself as its almost impossible for a small mining operation to get going due to the freedoms stolen from us by the government, but thats for another thread. I get what your saying about people that dont study the rules however I should have stated a big hole dug in a legal matter. Cheers Balx.

Hey Balx, I seen you wield a spade - mate!! you're a MINER

 

[Guest]

Are we miners or a fossicker?

State mining regulations are there for a reason, If you want to dig a big hole apply for a mining lease or claim.

Fossicking privileges aren't supposed to give a person the rite to make an income, they are provisions made by the government to allow us to enjoy our hobby and we should be grateful for that freedom.

It's the guys that don't abide by or take time to study the regulations that put the lot of us at risk of loosing the freedom we enjoy.

That's basically the reason people get upset.

It only take a few complaints by property owners or environmentalists to upset the apple cart, so enjoy what we have and try not to spoil it for others.

Gold fever does funny things to people.

As its called a Miners rights in Victoria I guess I am a miner . And I have not read anything about hole size in the creek beds in any of the legislation, it is even pretty open about holes in the bush, eg- Restore the ground as you found it- backfill any holes you dig and replace any leaf litter as it was as soon as practicable. As for a freedom "given to us by the government" thats a funny statement in itself as its almost impossible for a small mining operation to get going due to the freedoms stolen from us by the government, but thats for another thread. I get what your saying about people that dont study the rules however I should have stated a big hole dug in a legal matter. Cheers Balx.

Hey Balx, I seen you wield a spade - mate!! you're a MINER

I thought because you had seen me you would call me a professional sit and chatter? hahaha

 

[Keen Ken]

I guess with different regulations for different states this topic could confuse some people.

If you can have a "miners right" in Victoria that's great! and some of the regulations will be different.

In Qld it's a "fossickers licence" and as listed the regulations are quite clear(thanks Raizo).

There is no problem with people digging holes as long as they are within the provisions of the regulations.

On another point in Qld, when "No machinery is permitted" excludes generators and pumps please let me know.

I was at Warwick the other day with my son, in the afternoon these two guys back up with a ute and get stuck into my sons favourite panning spot with picks, mattocks, wheelbarrows and cleaned it out and into the back of the ute. That's fine, all within the provisions of the law (I guess).

But then we found them with the biggest high banker I ever saw with a fire buster pump (about 5 hp), using a small dam nearby shovelling the material into the hopper and dumping it back into the dam.

That's the kind of behaviour that will ruin it for everybody.

There seems to be a misguided idea that removing material and processing are two different things.
I think there needs to be some clarity made by the authorities as to whether this is accepted practice of not. (That's another subject).

 

[raygooley]

obviously the whingers have no idea of how much material is moved by mother nature in a 24 hour period

 

[casper]

Are we miners or a fossicker?

State mining regulations are there for a reason, If you want to dig a big hole apply for a mining lease or claim.

Fossicking privileges aren't supposed to give a person the rite to make an income, they are provisions made by the government to allow us to enjoy our hobby and we should be grateful for that freedom.

It's the guys that don't abide by or take time to study the regulations that put the lot of us at risk of loosing the freedom we enjoy.

That's basically the reason people get upset.

It only take a few complaints by property owners or environmentalists to upset the apple cart, so enjoy what we have and try not to spoil it for others.

Gold fever does funny things to people.

As its called a Miners rights in Victoria I guess I am a miner . And I have not read anything about hole size in the creek beds in any of the legislation, it is even pretty open about holes in the bush, eg- Restore the ground as you found it- backfill any holes you dig and replace any leaf litter as it was as soon as practicable. As for a freedom "given to us by the government" thats a funny statement in itself as its almost impossible for a small mining operation to get going due to the freedoms stolen from us by the government, but thats for another thread. I get what your saying about people that dont study the rules however I should have stated a big hole dug in a legal matter. Cheers Balx.

Hey Balx, I seen you wield a spade - mate!! you're a MINER

I thought because you had seen me you would call me a professional sit and chatter? hahaha

yup! a chatterer, a sociable bloke, good company

 

[Wintersnake]

I'd be asking if these other prospectors are getting any colour if they don't dig holes ?

 

[Jindy Gold]

Just a note. I usually fill in my holes as some of the creeks down here are slow flowing and the rain doesnt always fill in.. but being a bit lazy the other week i had to dig a hole quite big in a sandy part of the slow flowing Thredbo river. I did not fill it in as i was coming back the next day,, but to my amazement when walking up i had noticed a huge rainbow trout had taken up this hole as his home for the while... as the part of the river is quite shallow and long and sandy it had offered him a great ambush site.. i have now left the hole and have seen many different fish lay in there.. normally i would come back with my flyrod but these ones i feel like are my kids now lol.. so ill leave them alone... Oh in case anyone asks as this river bounds the national park.. I was on the other side to the national park... the boundary starts half way across the river. I did pull 4 grams out of this hole and some nice garnets too..
Good luck to all...

 

[HeadsUp]

Just a note. I usually fill in my holes as some of the creeks down here are slow flowing and the rain doesnt always fill in.. but being a bit lazy the other week i had to dig a hole quite big in a sandy part of the slow flowing Thredbo river. I did not fill it in as i was coming back the next day,, but to my amazement when walking up i had noticed a huge rainbow trout had taken up this hole as his home for the while... as the part of the river is quite shallow and long and sandy it had offered him a great ambush site.. i have now left the hole and have seen many different fish lay in there.. normally i would come back with my flyrod but these ones i feel like are my kids now lol.. so ill leave them alone... Oh in case anyone asks as this river bounds the national park.. I was on the other side to the national park... the boundary starts half way across the river. I did pull 4 grams out of this hole and some nice garnets too..
Good luck to all...

mate you better send an invoice for the time you spent digging that hole , reckon Dept of Fisheries will pay that one ?

haha

good to see you doing your bit for conservation . love it !

 

[loamer]

Just a note. I usually fill in my holes as some of the creeks down here are slow flowing and the rain doesnt always fill in.. but being a bit lazy the other week i had to dig a hole quite big in a sandy part of the slow flowing Thredbo river. I did not fill it in as i was coming back the next day,, but to my amazement when walking up i had noticed a huge rainbow trout had taken up this hole as his home for the while... as the part of the river is quite shallow and long and sandy it had offered him a great ambush site.. i have now left the hole and have seen many different fish lay in there.. normally i would come back with my flyrod but these ones i feel like are my kids now lol.. so ill leave them alone... Oh in case anyone asks as this river bounds the national park.. I was on the other side to the national park... the boundary starts half way across the river. I did pull 4 grams out of this hole and some nice garnets too..
Good luck to all...

Good post Jindy. I don't pan, only detect and I do fill in my holes. However, if you have been to some of the Vic fields you will appreciate this - I have stood on some leads with 1,000s of digger holes (the Inkerman etc etc) and have heard people say - 'did you see the detectors unfilled holes on the mullock heaps?" It does make me smile. Same with raking - make 'sure you replace your leaf litter after raking' - OK, I do. Ever seen the bush after a huge downpour and how much leaf litter gets moved? I call that 'god's raking' - Parks Vic going to get the Pope to put through a call and tell him/her/it to put back the leaf litter? Also, prime spots are to rake away around ironbox trees - nice new ground, but replace the leaf litter. Guess what the backburners do down here? rake around all the big old trees as fire-breaks. It can get very confusing at times. Rant complete.

 

[Goldtarget]

So how far in Victoria can we go down? Hands tools only I'm suggesting, but I'd like to be smack bang on that reef line, who knows how far it goes. I'm ok with filling it in after working it and protecting the exposed hole by means of mesh fencing so noone falls in while I'm having lunch or sleeping. Is there a limit to depth and width?

 

[G0lddigg@]

im not aware of any limits to how deep you can go as long as you fill your holes and minimize impact

 

[charlie123]

If anyone digs a hole anywhere without keeping natures balance in mind they are causing a disterbance, if you respect nature you find you do your best to respect farmer, most the time your on there property, respect

 

[elbowgrease]

im not aware of any limits to how deep you can go as long as you fill your holes and minimize impact

hypothetical question here

what if you working a spot, in a creek bed, below the water line, once or twice a month for a year or more? you'd hardly want to fill it in each fortnight or so then dig it all back out again every time you come back especially when the better gold is generally at the bottom you'd be forever re-digging your own over burden.

I gotta say its all a very grey area!

Hard for a prospector to know if he's working in what someone else perceives to be the law when there is no clear definition.

Just my 2 cents worth, and some food for thought!

Adam

 

[jethro]

I wish someone could explain the importance of backfilling holes to my two dogs. Ive just come home to survey yet another grand excavation in the name of "retribution for leaving us at home while you went out" . If only I could train them to dig loams in the bush.

 

[Goldtarget]

Thanks for the replies. I guess my question was for two specific scenarios. The first of which is to hit the bed rock in streams and gullies while high banking, and secondly to expand a reef lead that was abandoned on private property.I'm sure many people have had first hand experience seeing what a couple of likely lads can achieve with pick and shovel. The last thing you want to be doing is trying to sort out the legal mess after the fact.