With gold prices on a seemingly endless upswing, it would be natural to expect that good fossicking areas could look forward to a surge in grey nomads visitors carrying metal detectors and sieves.
However, there are fears that a change in the law last year that made it harder for treasure hunters in Queensland to get permission to access general prospecting areas (GPAs) could actually deter travellers and hit tourism.
Some fossickers and gold prospectors are being locked out of some areas after a law change gave mining companies a greater say in who can prospect on designated fossicking locations in state-owned land.
The Mineral and Energy Resources and Other Legislation Amendment (MEROLA) Act came into effect last June, adding pending mining lease applicants to the list of bodies with authority over GPAs … and adding another layer of difficulty for visitors seeking to strike it lucky.
Fossicking is very popular in the Clermont area. PIC: Peter McKenzie
A Department of Mines spokesperson previously told the ABC that a mining lease application did not invalidate a GPA, however, fossickers were required to obtain permission from the mining lease application holder.
“The department works hard to balance the rights and interests of fossickers with other land uses and users across the state,” they said. “Mining lease applicants invest heavily to identify and develop resources that deliver royalties to the state … requiring fossickers to seek their permission balances recreational fossicking with the rights of commercial miners.”
However, the ABC reports that visitors like retired caravanners, Clinton and Susan Lonergan, have been adversely affected d by the new regulations.
They say they were recently denied access to a section of the nearby Blair Athol State Forest, where there are three GPAs under pending mining lease applications.
“It’s upsetting for us,” Mrs Lonergan told the ABC. “There’s lots of people who have said to us that they won’t come back now … it is already having an impact.”
And Frieda Berry-Porter the owner of The Outback Prospector business in Clermont told the ABC that the extra layer of permission required was causing a lot of confusion and concern, and putting people off from coming to the town.
“We don’t know what the extent of the impact will be, because the price of gold is getting quite high, some record prices, which increases the interest of people to go and peg mining leases,” she said. “We’ll definitely be considering the viability of our business here but it’s more than just the economic loss, it’s the community that they bring to town … they’re like family, some of these customers.”
* Do you travel with a metal detector and a sieve as you travel? Have you had much luck in the fossicking fields? Comment below.
Are you a Grey Nomad member yet? Click here to find out about the discounts, competitions and other benefits on offer.
