Fossicking District and Minerals Titles - NSW

[Rumply22]

Hi Everyone,

I am very new to fossicking and am trying to get my head around some of the mapping and rules for where I can actually fossick/prospect.

So I have found somewhere I would like to go and try my luck. This is what the map looks like on the Forestry Corps Maps.

I can see this in the Fossicking District, but it also is partly in the "Minerals Title - Permission required outside of fossicking districts". Does this mean I can still fossick here, with out having to get permission from the Mineral Title holder?

The second part of my question, assuming I can fossick in this Mineral Titles area, is based off the NSW Six Maps site and whether this is crown land that does not require land holders permissions.

I believe this section of the map that I have highlighted in yellow is "crown land", well it doesn't have a lot number or anything allocated to it. Does that mean, if there are roads leading to that river, like the highlighted yellow bit, then I can fossick along that part of the river, without having to contact anyone for permission? I saw another thread that suggested I could.

I really hope I am making sense :8

Thanks,

Rumply

 

[mbasko]

I'll answer this with a bit more depth than asked for just to cover any future reference to the thread.

Within a NSW State Forest you firstly need a FCNSW Fossicking Permit. $25/year available from FCNSW website.

If the NSW State Forest is within a fossicking district then you don't need permission from an Exploration Licence (EL) holder.
However, any other Minerals Title does still require the permission of the minerals title holder.

FCNSW also have Exclusion Zones & Areas Under Lease. Exclusion Zones are exactly that - no fossicking.
Areas Under Lease require permission from the leaseholder.

Currently in NSW all fossicking, on all Crown Land, requires permission of either the Land Manager, Land Licence/Permit holder or where unmanaged Crown Lands themselves.

Examples of some common NSW Crown Land Managers:
Local Land Services (TSR's)
NSW State Water (Waterways & Foreshore areas)
NPWS (National Parks, SCA's etc. - fossicking or detecting is generally not permitted)
Local Council (Reserves, parkland, roadside areas etc.)
Common Trusts (NSW Commons)
Reserve Trusts or Managers (Recreation Areas etc.)
Various NSW Aboriginal Lands Councils
Some of these areas (but not ALL) do have a standing approval to fossick but you need to check yourself to be sure.

Examples of Land Licence/Permit holders:
Grazing licence/permit holders
Rehabilitation/Environmental licence holders
Other land use titles/permits/licences
These are usually nearby landowners or local groups with an interest in the land.
Basically you need to contact Crown Lands for info on all of these!

For unmanaged Crown Lands you need to contact & gain fossicking permission from Crown Lands.
Sounds daunting but it's pretty straight forward & cost free - I have several permissions in place.

Best bet in the waterway shown IMO would be to contact the adjacent landholder/s &/or landowner/s then ask them if you could access the waterway for fossicking via the route shown (regardless whether it's Crown Land or not - it's easier & tends to open gates if done properly rather than shut them).

Obviously private property also requires the landowner/landholder permission. Same rules as above for a Fossicking District.

 

[Rumply22]

Thanks for your response, very helpful.

Yep, already have the permit. State Forests seem like the easiest option, but I expect many have been done to death.... still worth a look though.

I am bit slow on the uptake and want to make sure I understand...to confirm, in relation to my first picture, even though this is in a fossicking district, I still need to get the Mineral Title holders permission? Even though it says "Permission required outside of fossicking districts"? I am not referencing the actual land holder in this example, sorry if that was implied in my question, I am just talking about the Mineral Title holder at this point.

In regards to the examples of some common Crown Land managers, would they most likely be state based or council based? More than happy to follow up approvals, want to make sure I am covered.

Could I contact Crown Lands with a location in mind and ask if they know who the manager would be, or if they can provide permissions?

Do you know of a forum topic that has suggestions on the best way to contact land owners, especially when you don't live near by?

Thank you so much!

 

[mbasko]

to confirm, in relation to my first picture, even though this is in a fossicking district, I still need to get the Mineral Title holders permission? Even though it says "Permission required outside of fossicking districts"?

If it's an Exploration Licence (EL) & in a Fossicking District no permission from the license holder is required.
If there's any other type of Mineral Title like a Mining Lease (ML), then you need permission regardless of whether it's in a Fossicking District or not.
You can find the type of mineral title here:
https://minview.geoscience.nsw.gov.au/#/?lon=148.5&lat=-32.50000&z=7&bm=bm3&l=at2:y:100
although any large area would likely be an EL & small areas ML etc.
FCNSW hasn't worded their map very well.
It should read something like this - "Exploration Licence (EL) - Permission required outside of fossicking districts (All other Minerals Titles require permission in all areas).

Some of the Land Managers are State based & some are locally based but Crown Lands should be able to give you that information.
You'll need to provide Crown Lands with the DP (Deposited Plan) & Lot numbers as well as the area (locality, parish etc.) which you can find on Six Maps or Minview.
For land under licence or permit they may contact the licence or permit holder but will likely just say it's not suitable for fossicking?
For unmanaged land they should approve it after they get a signed liability waver, responsibilities document back off you (they will provide it).

Unfortunately the best way to approach private property access is face to face. You'll need to spend some time locally working on that if you're not close by.

 

[Reg13]

Hi could anyone gives me the guidelines of where to go to find this map of squares, and price per square, in NSW, for an Exploration licence for gold for a specific area?

Thank you
Reg

 

[mbasko]

Best bet would be to contact NSW Resources/NSW Geological Survey
https://www.resourcesandgeoscience.nsw.gov.au/miners-and-explorers

 

[iamagoldenoldie2]

its as clear as mud to me, the NSW government promote fossicking as a family type hobby,, but ,,, last time i looked closely at the legislation the wording,,, no excavation is permissible ,,, mmmm,,, how do you fossick without digging, and they slammed the door on high banking, a few years ago ,, i tried to find out who managed Oallen ford, the shoalhaven river is the boundary for 2 different local government areas,, i gave up ,, I just can't find the right person to talk to , in any government department , its all online enquiries only and privacy rules apply ,,, i would like to poke around sunny corner but not had the ambition to start enquiring