MINING LAWS

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21239, 10 August 1934, Page 16

MINING LAWS

AMENDMENT BILL'S

PROVISIONS

COMPREHENSIVE MEASURE

SECOND HEADING PASSED IN

HOUSE

[From Our Parliamentary Reporter.!

WELLINGTON, August. 9

Revision, amendment, clarification and consolidation of the existing laws relating to gold mining in New Zealand are proposed in the Mining Amendment Bill, which was presented to the House of Representatives by Governor-General's Message this afternoon and read a second time. The bill is a most comprehensive measure, designed primarily to remove anomalies in the present law and to facilitate the development of the industry in the Dominion. Such a measure has longbeen looked forward to by those engaged in gold mining, and the Minuter for Mines (the Hon. C. E. Macmillan) hopes that the proposals in the bill will meet all the legitimate demands on his department. There has been no provision in the existing law empowering entry on lands for geological or geophysical surveys, although such powers have existed for ordinary land surveys and engineering surveys. The bill gives the necessary power to any person authorised by the Minister to carry out such work, with a provision that reasonable notice is given to the owner or occupier. Compensation is also provided for the owner for damage done.

It has been found in practice that when geological or geophysical surveys are being made, surveyors are followed up by persons who immediately peg out all the ground being surveyed, and apply to the Warden's Court for mining rights. As the undertaking of such surveys costs the Government a great deal, a clause has been designed to give (he State an opportunity of protecting its interests by requiring the consent of the Minister to the granting of mining rights over the land, which has involved survey expense.-. Protecting Areas Under the existing law, the maximum area which may be taken up under a prospecting license is 100 acres. It has been found that this area is unduly small, particularly in view of mining developments by firms with substantial capital. There is nothing in present law to prevent men from pegging out a large number of contiguous 100 acre blocks: but applicants in such cases are put to unnecessary expense. Thus a clause in the bill provides for an increase in the maximum area for an ordinary prospecting license to 1000 acres.

In future a substantia] deposit will be required from a licensee to j ensure fulfilment of his license con- j ditions. It is also stipulated that J transfers of licenses must not be j made without the written consent of j the Minister.

As practically all the gold-bear-ing rivers in New Zealand have been dredged once or twice, and as the capital cost of a modern dredge capable of recovering gold which lias been missed by dredges in the past is so heavy, it is proposed that the maximum length of a dredging claim on a river should be substantially extended. In accordance with this, the bill increases the maximum length of such claim from three miles to 13 miles, and the maximum area from 75 acres to 600 acres.

The Department of Lands has for many years been very concerned over the granting of site licenses on Crown land strips bordering coasts and streams, as it has considered that the public interest has not been properly protected. It is not now considered that any restrictions should be placed on the mining of these reserves, nor is it thought that machine site licenses on such areas should be restricted in any way. It is held, however, that more control should be exercised over the granting of business site licenses and resident site licenses on these lands, and therefore the bill provides that I no such license be granted without the consent in writing of the Minister. Amalgamation of Claims As the law stands at present in regard to the amalgamation of claims, there is some doubt as to whether the rental on an amalgamated claim should be computed at the same rate as was being paid cumulatively before amalgamation, or whether it should be computed on the basis of the new license. The position is that the rental on claims is at the rate of 2s Cd an acre for the first year, 5s for the second year, and 7s fid for the third year. If, after the expirty of three years, several claims on which the rental is charged at 7s fid are amalgamated, it has been deemed most unreasonable that the rental should begin at the rate of 2s (id. This anomaly is removed by the bill. Another section requires the rental on a renewed license to be paid at the same rate as that paid on the original license at the date of expiry. The present Mining Act provides for the abandonment of a dredging claim if. for a continuous period of more than two years, a suitable dredge is not working or in the course of construction on the claim, or in the vicinity. It has been shown to the department that since in some cases it is necessary that modern dredges should be built in England, which is, of course, remote from the area to be dredged, the period of two years might not be sufficient for construction, transportation, and reerection in New Zealand. In. future, the Minister will be empowered to approve extension of the period before the claim is deemed to be abandoned.

A. most important section of the bill is designed for the protection of the surface of land suitable for agricultural and pastoral purposes. Damage to agricultural lands has also been caused by sluicing, and the bill proposes to extend protection to this land as welL Under the present Mining Act, special terms may be inserted on a dredging license with a View to preventing the destruction of arable land; but it has been found that the cost of complying with such conditions has exceeded many times the orig-

inal total improved value of the land affected. The present bill seeks to limit the special terms so that the great cost of complying with them should be eliminated. Damage to Crown Lands The Mining Act makes no provision for compensation to the Crown in respect of damage done to Crown lands by mining operations, although the owners of private lands and their lessees are protected by the act. In the early days there was no need for such provision, as practically all the Crown lands in the mining districts wonunimproved or of very low value. With the development of farming, however, many areas of Crown land are now of considerable value. It is now considered that circumstances have so changed t..at the principle of compensation should be recognised. The bill now before the House makes such provision. It also provides that compensation for damage to agrieulutral land shall be fixed jointly by the Minister for Mines and the Mini'-'er for Lands, while damage to forest lands will be assessed with the .co-operation of the Commissioner of State Forests.

With regard to (ho acknowledged, clangor to men working on inclined shafts, the bill requires that in cases where .material is hauled up an inclined plane exceeding 100 ft in length, in which any person is working during driving operations, the driver of the winding engine shall be the holder of a driver's certificate of a special permit issued by the Inspector of Mines after tests. In accordance with (lie recommendations of the National Expenditure Commission, the fees payable by certain applicants for certificates under the Mining' Act have been reviewed, and amendments in the bill bring fees more into line with those payable under the Coal Mines Act. Another section of the MiningAct provides that the holder of a mining privilege who proposes to put down a bore shall furnish certain particulars. Although many option holders have made a practice of boring, there is no provision in the act requiring them to furnish information. The present bill is designed to cover this situation. Underground Workings

The Mining Amendment Act of 1927 provides that under certain conditions a mine having underground workings shall have at least two separate and distinct, outlets, communicating with one another. Consideration of the position at the Mahakipawa mine, where a clanger is said to exist because of water in adjacent old workings, has left some doubt as to whether the inspector is entitled to require a second outlet. Such dangerous conditions are specially provided for in the 1926 Mining Act, and a section of the present bill is intended to clarify the position. The bill, which contains 35 clauses in all, deals with other mining questions, most of which are technical and mechanical. Some of the clauses refer to inquests on miners killed at work, costs allowable to counsel -in- mining cases in the Supreme Court, payment of stamp duty, and various other subjects.