MINING REGULATIONS

Hokitika Guardian, 31 August 1926, Page 4

MINING REGULATIONS

INCREASED EEES. i At the last meeting of the Westland County Council Air Alurdoch brought up the question of the substantial increase in fees to he lodged in connection with mining applications. Representations were made by the County to the -Minister of Alines, who replied asking for specific instances in reference to an adverse effect in mining, and promised further consideration. Additional information has been supplied including u, table (published below) setting out comparatively the list of fees and the increases. It will he noted that the increases are very substantial and the added cost must have a very discouraging effect on gold mining. It is the general anil obvious complaint of the goldminer that while the cost of mining operations in oil respects have risen, the sterling value of the commodity produced is stationary. and there is noway to enhance the value. Wh.cn to the increased cost of material used in mining, labour, and the cost of living generally, the mining fees also advance, the burden on the miner grows heavier, and there being no compensating advantages, the ultimate effect is to discourage prospecting and general mining enterprise. Such being the ease, the protest by the Westland County Council is certainly very much to the point, and it is to he hoped will hear good fruit. The following table shows the increase of fees made by the Regulations gazetted 4th June, 1926:

The three last . fees bear particularly hard upon, an applicant who requires time to appeal to the Court of Appeal and whose hearing oT bis ultimate appeal may be delayed owing to fireumstancos completely beyond, iii.s control.

• Consider also the case of an ordinary miner who after prospecting on Crown Lands decides he has discovered an area which would warrant working as a mining claim. Tie applies to the Warden for the claim and the necessary mining rights for working Hie same so that he will not become a trespasser on Crown Lands. He requires a dam, tail race, water race, branch race and special site. Under the schedule of foes prior to June, 192(1, these cost 5s each or a total of 255. Under the present regulations the charge is £5 ss. in addition to a fee of £1 for the .Minister’s consent to i' !, e grant of a water race for a dam (whatever that may mean).

Apart from the fees that are chargeable there seems to he an extraordinary amount of clerical work attached to applications at the present day. For instance, two copies of each application are required for the Court, one copy for the Commissioner of Crown Lands, one copy for the Conservator of State Forests, and one copy to send to the Inspector of Mines and another copy to he posted on the ground applied for. After reports are obtained from these three authorities the application duly comes before an experienced Warden. 4Vhcre then is the necessity for the new rule requiring notification to the Minister of Mines at Wellington? 44’f-at useful purposes can he served by increasing the number of application forms required in this manner? — thus increasing the cost to the miner, who, alas, in many cases, proves the ground in the end to be a duffer.

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