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Post by RKC on Sept 27, 2010 11:13:32 GMT 12
Small Scale Gold Miners Black Sanders Suction Dredgers and other small scale Mining Permit holders Current proposed changes to the Crown Minerals Act 1991 could have a significant effect on your future operations. A meeting to discuss the proposed changes and how to have your say is being held at the Minerals West Coast office 100b Mackay Street Greymouth (Above Stewart Nimmo Photography) Thursday 30th September 7.30 pm For further information please contact Minerals West Coast at 03 768 5600-------------------------------------------------------------------- G'day, Minerals West Coast needs as many miners as possible to attend the above meeting where the issues raised in this thread will be clarified. The meeting has been arranged at short notice to leave enough time to get submissions in to Crown Minerals by the 8th Oct 2010. The local member of parliament for the West Coast Chris Auchinvole is aware of the issue and will be reporting back to parliament on the outcome of the meeting. Minerals West Coast will shortly be inviting membership for individuals to join the association and information about how to join will shortly become available on their web site. ( www.mineralswestcoast.co.nz/index.aspx ) Regards, Rob (RKC)
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Post by aucn on Sept 27, 2010 14:01:50 GMT 12
thanks rob rang Peter O sullivan is going to send a word template for the submission to persons interested, the more people we can get to submit the better..
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2010 8:17:19 GMT 12
Anybody got any news on the meeting last night? We had a consents hearing and couldnt make it. Cheers
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Post by RKC on Oct 1, 2010 9:48:39 GMT 12
G’day Homesouth and others, Last nights meeting was well attended by miners with the conference room at Minerals West Coast full and the outer office full to overflowing. It was mostly miners from The Coast with a few from Marlborough. The local MP for the West Coast, Chris Auchinvole attended and spoke at length. He was very supportive of mining and expressed the opinion that he was the MP in Parliament that was the most supportive of mining. Most of the discussion related to beach mining with suction dredging only mentioned a few times. It was said by many attending that this had all come as a surprise and that they had little time to respond by the deadline of the 8th of this month. The meeting itself had been organised at short notice and Minerals West Coast has done an excellent job to prepare as well as they did and to get the local MP to attend. The main point made was that as many submissions need to be sent in as possible. Minerals West Coast have written up a number of template submissions that can be downloaded from their web site. www.mineralswestcoast.co.nz/index.aspx If you look to the right on the main page, under news, there are submissions that can be downloaded for suction dredging as well as black-sanding. There is also a PowerPoint presentation available that was made for last nights meeting. www.mineralswestcoast.co.nz/data2/302210022233_reviwing%20the%20crown%20minerals%20act%201991%20as%20it%20effects%20minimalist%20mining%20operations.pdfI don’t have time to prepare a detailed submission myself by the deadline and I will probably just use the template submission on suction dredging. During the second round of the submission process, after more is known about what is actually intended by Crown Minerals, more detailed submissions can be made. What Crown Minerals need to know first, is that there is significant opposition to the proposals. There was a great deal of anger expressed by the miners about the way this has arisen out of nowhere, and what is proposed. A number of other issues that effect the small scale mining sector were mentioned ... such as the problem with large mining company's locking up ground ... as we have previously discussed on this forum golddredgingforum.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=general&thread=162&page=1However it was said by the conveners of the meeting that this is a separate issue that needs to be raised at some other time. I got the impression from what was said that the miners would like to widen the discussion with Crown Minerals to address all the problem issues that we presently have .. such as the excessive paper work and so on. The meeting was very much against allowing hobby fossickers to prospect at will, virtually anywhere ( there was considerable discussion about the proposed limits of the use of 5hp motors for fossickers and the miners wanted more information from Crown Minerals about this). There was the suggestion made that more fossicking areas should be made available by Crown Minerals to cater for the increased interest in hobby fossicking. There will probably be some newspaper publicity shortly and Chris Auchinvole will be meeting with Gerry Brownlee about the issue. I attempted to video the parts of last nights meeting that dealt with suction dredging, but the sound quality is too poor to use. I will add more to this thread as it becomes available. The most important thing to do NOW is to get as many submissions in by the 8th as possible. Regards, Rob (RKC)
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Post by RKC on Oct 1, 2010 13:12:51 GMT 12
G'day,
I have just attempted to download the template submission for suction dredge mining from the Minerals West Coast web site to send to an Otago dredger with a claim, however it seems to no longer be available. Maybe a technical problem with the web site ... I will try again later today. All the other templates seem to be still available.
Regards, Rob (RKC)
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Post by treeman on Oct 1, 2010 13:41:07 GMT 12
Try This Attachments:
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Post by boaraxa on Oct 1, 2010 13:49:04 GMT 12
Hi treeman i dont think that is the dredging template..?
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Post by RKC on Oct 1, 2010 14:00:27 GMT 12
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Post by goldtimer on Oct 1, 2010 16:00:25 GMT 12
Hi RKC, Why are these people opposed to the taking away of the need for a permit to prospect? Are the new rules going to let prospectors onto already claimed areas or something? If this is the case, I can fully understand why people would be opposed, as this would be completely and utterly unfair for those who had paid the money to get their claims, but I was of the understanding that the change would allow people to prospect without permit on unclaimed land. I may be wrong. Could you please clarify this? Thank-you
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Post by RKC on Oct 1, 2010 20:27:30 GMT 12
G'day Goldtimer,
Its too early to clarify anything. Hopefully all will become clear in the second round of the submission process. The perception is that claims are threatened. I had hoped more would have been made known at the meeting. But everyone there was unsure what the real intention of Crown Minerals is. The West Coast MP who was at the meeting was unaware there was an issue at all until informed by the miners through Minerals West Coast. And it was even said at the meeting that Gerry Brownlee is unaware of what is proposed. It all seems to be coming from the Crown Minerals bureaucracy.
I thought I understood what I had read in the "Crown Minerals Act Review - Discussion Paper" and it did not appear to me back then that there was a threat to claims. It was only after reading the Greystar article that I became aware there was the possibility that claims might be done away with. From the little that has come out, it appears to me that Crown Minerals want to reduce their workload and they want to solve their problem by reducing the entire small scale mining sector to just hobbyists who use nothing more than a 5hp motor.
All that's important at present is to get in as many submissions as possible in opposition to the proposals and not to support "Removing Permit Requirements for Small-Scale Gold Activities in River and Lake Beds and Coastal Marine Areas".
Regards, Rob (RKC)
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Post by treeman on Oct 1, 2010 20:50:26 GMT 12
its ok boaraxa. i rewrote that and sent it to the powers to be. and yes it is one of the templates it refers only to suction dredging and where you are it applies. I feel that at this stage its numbers and and anything that leaves the rules the same will have the effect. i am sure there will be another round I just hope its better than 94. cheers and beers Treeman
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Post by RKC on Oct 2, 2010 12:13:03 GMT 12
G'day, The suction dredging template submission as written by Minerals West Coast is attached as a word document. The following is the latest from Minerals West Coast ... "I will contact Crown Minerals again this week to seek clarification of the definition for "hand tools and small equipment" I suspect that Crown Minerals will need to work with a body to discuss the issues raise in the submissions and that Minerals West Coast would be an appropriate body or organization. I will send out further information as it comes to hand. Chris Auchinvole our MP will also be talking with Crown Minerals and the Minister on our behalf". Regards, Rob (RKC) Attachments:
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Post by RKC on Oct 2, 2010 12:18:44 GMT 12
G'day, A membership application form for Minerals West Coast is attached as a word file. Regards, Rob (RKC) Attachments:
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Post by RKC on Oct 5, 2010 16:30:36 GMT 12
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Post by RKC on Oct 6, 2010 14:00:07 GMT 12
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