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Prospecting guide · 09

Rules and etiquette

The general principles that apply everywhere. The specific rules are local and are yours to learn.

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Rules first, then the stream

Whether prospecting is allowed depends entirely on where you are: the country, the region, who holds the land, and sometimes a single stream. In one place hand panning is tolerated; in another the same activity is restricted or banned outright. Rules change over time and vary even within one country. That is why this guide does not summarise the rules for any particular place; a wrong summary would do more harm than none.

The honest principle is this: the rules are local, they are yours to learn, and they come before any trap geometry. The authority that manages minerals and land where you are is the first source. Local prospecting associations often know how the rules work in practice. Treat equipment sellers as a less reliable source. Owning the land may not be enough on its own either; in many places minerals are managed separately from the land.

GOLDONGO is a map of stream geometry. A high score does not mean you may dig at that spot, and it says nothing about what is allowed there. The map tells you whether a stretch has the shape to hold gold; it does not tell you whether you may go there or dig there. Those are entirely separate questions, and the answer to the second lies in the rules where you are, not on the map. Before you head for a stretch that looks good on the map, learn the rules for that place separately.

  • Find out whether prospecting is allowed where you are going.
  • Check whether hand panning and motorised tools are treated differently.
  • Know the rule on keeping and removing what you find before it matters.
  • If registered claims exist, learn how to check them.

Access and the landholder’s permission

Reaching a stream often means crossing someone’s land. As a rule you need permission to cross private land. Ask the owner or manager in advance, face to face if you can, and be clear about what you want to do: which stretch, with which tools, for how long. Accept a no without argument. When they say yes, keep to the conditions they set.

Access is held in common trust. A gate left open, a broken fence, a vehicle driven into a field or a hole left gaping is enough for a landholder to close the door to every prospector. Access lost by one careless person is lost for everyone, and winning it back can take years. Leave gates and fences as you found them, stay clear of crops and livestock, and park where you will not block anyone’s way.

Protected areas and historical traces

National parks, nature reserves and heritage sites are closed to prospecting almost everywhere, and the consequences of ignoring that are usually severe. Their boundaries are not always marked on the ground, so checking a map before you go is your responsibility. A map that shows these areas helps, but it does not replace confirming the current boundaries with the responsible authority.

If you come across something historical or archaeological, leave it where it is, record its location and report it to the relevant authority. Artefacts and old workings are protected in most places. Moving an object destroys, permanently, the information its context holds. Old mine workings can carry historical value and are dangerous as well; walk the stream below them rather than exploring them.

Respect the stream and its banks

A stream is a habitat. Fish lay their eggs in particular gravels, insects and frogs live under the stones, and bankside plants hold the soil in place. Many places restrict digging in spawning gravel or during spawning seasons. Work below the water line as little as possible, keep silt out of the current, do not undercut the bank or cut roots, and put back the gravel you moved and the stones you turned.

A hole is the most visible trace a prospector leaves behind. An open hole traps animals and people, erodes into the bank at the next flood, and is the quickest way for prospectors to lose the goodwill of everyone else on the stream. Fill every hole before you leave, put the topsoil back on top, and leave the site as you found it.

  • Fill every hole, topsoil on top.
  • Do not undercut banks or cut roots and bankside plants.
  • Keep silt out of the current; do not send muddy water downstream.
  • Put turned stones and moved gravel back.
  • Take your rubbish out, and other people’s too.

No mercury

Mercury was used in the past to collect fine gold, and in some places it still is. Do not use it. Mercury forms an amalgam with gold, and when that is heated to drive the mercury off, it gives off toxic vapour that does lasting harm to whoever heats it and to the people nearby. Mercury that gets into a stream does not go away: it builds up in the sediment, turns into forms that living things absorb, and concentrates along the food chain.

At hobby scale you have no need for mercury at all. Fine gold is recovered with careful panning, good classification and patience. If you work below old workings and see silvery liquid droplets or grey, pasty lumps in your pan, they may be old mercury or amalgam. Do not touch them with bare hands, never heat them, and report the location to the relevant authority.

Respect for other people

You are not the only one using the stream. Anglers, walkers, herders, farmers who draw on the water and other prospectors are there too. Do not set up right next to someone who arrived before you. Do not muddy the water when people are downstream. Do not spread noise, vehicles and gear across shared spaces. If you meet other prospectors, say hello, ask where they are working and keep out of their stretch; on a shared stream a small courtesy makes every later visit easier.

If someone asks what you are doing on the stream, or objects, be polite, explain plainly, and leave without argument if a landholder or an official asks you to. A conversation costs nothing; an argument can cost you and others access for years. A good prospector is known less by the gold they find than by the impression they leave behind.

  • Keep out of the stretch of whoever arrived first; leave a gap.
  • Do not muddy the water when anglers or water users are downstream.
  • Park where you block no one’s way, gate or livestock.
  • If asked, explain plainly what you are doing; leave without argument if asked to.

Quick answers

1Is prospecting legal?

It depends entirely on where you are — on the country, the region, the land and sometimes the stream. There is no universal answer, and this guide does not give one. Find out the rules that apply where you intend to go before you dig.

2Where do I find the rules for my area?

From the authority that manages minerals and land where you are, and from local prospecting associations, who usually know how the rules work in practice. Treat sellers of equipment as a less reliable source.

3Does owning land mean I can prospect on it?

Not necessarily. In many places the minerals belong to the state or are managed separately from the land. Check the mineral rules, not only the land title.

4What about protected areas?

National parks, reserves and heritage sites are closed to prospecting almost everywhere, and the penalties are usually severe. GOLDONGO marks them and drops the streams inside them from its lists, but the map is not a substitute for checking.

5Do I need permission to cross private land?

As a rule, yes. Ask the owner or manager, be clear about what you intend to do, and accept a no. Access lost by one careless person is lost for everyone.

6What is a claim?

In some regions, a registered right to prospect or mine a specific piece of ground. Where claims exist, working on someone else’s without permission is a serious matter. Learn whether your region uses them and how to check.

7What is the general etiquette on a stream?

Do not work right beside someone who was there first, do not muddy the water for people downstream, fill your holes, and leave gates and fences as you found them.

8Can I sell the gold I find?

Whether and how you may keep or sell gold is part of the local rules, and it varies. Know the answer before it matters.

9Are motorised tools treated differently?

Almost always. Pumps, dredges and highbankers are regulated more strictly than hand tools in most places, sometimes banned. Hand panning is the most widely tolerated activity — but tolerated is not the same as permitted.

10What about fish and stream ecology?

Streams are habitats. Many places restrict digging in spawning gravel or during spawning seasons. Work below the water line as little as possible, keep silt out of the current, and put gravel back.

11What is the responsible thing to do with a hole?

Fill it before you leave. Open holes trap animals and people, erode into the bank, and are the most visible way prospectors lose the goodwill of everyone else on the stream.

12What if I find something historical or archaeological?

Leave it, record where it was, and report it to the relevant authority. Artefacts and old workings are protected in most places, and moving them destroys the information they hold.

13Does GOLDONGO give me any right to prospect?

No. It is a map of stream geometry. A score is not a permit and does not say anything about whether you may dig at that spot. The rules where you are decide that.

14What should I do if someone challenges me on a stream?

Be polite, explain what you are doing, and leave if asked by a landholder or an official. A conversation costs nothing; an argument can cost access for years.

15Why does this guide not list the rules for each country?

Because they change, they vary within countries, and a wrong summary would do harm. The honest version is: the rules are local, they are yours to learn, and they come before any trap geometry.

Other sections

The map does the reading for you

GOLDONGO scores entire stream networks for the trap geometry this guide describes — slope breaks, inside bends, junctions and bedrock. Pick your region and see where it stands.

Choose your region

This guide is general education, not advice for a specific place. A score, a map or a sentence here is not a licence to dig: the rules for prospecting, land access and protected areas differ from place to place — learn the ones that apply where you are before you go.