Gold Fossicking Rules in New Zealand: What's Legal?

Good news: recreational gold panning is legal in New Zealand, and you don't need a permit for basic fossicking in designated areas. Bad news: step outside those areas or use the wrong equipment, and you could be in trouble. Here's what you need to know.

The Basic Rule

In New Zealand, the Crown owns all gold, silver, and petroleum — regardless of who owns the land above it. This means you technically need permission to extract any mineral, even a speck of gold in a river.

However, the government has created 19 "Public Gold Fossicking Areas" where recreational panning is explicitly allowed without a permit. These are the green zones on our map.

What's Allowed in Designated Areas

• Gold pans of any size
• Shovels and hand tools
• Classifiers and sieves
• Sluice boxes (unpowered)
• Crevicing tools

You must work within the active stream bed — that's the area that regularly gets wet. You can't dig up riverbanks, terraces, or surrounding land.

What's NOT Allowed Without a Permit

• Suction dredges (motorized or not) — require a mining permit
• Highbankers with motorized pumps
• Excavation outside the stream bed
• Any motorized equipment
• Commercial-scale operations

Metal Detecting

Metal detecting for gold is a grey area. Technically, detecting for gold requires permission from NZPAM — but detecting for "relics" doesn't. In practice, many detector users operate in fossicking areas, and enforcement is rare for hobbyists.

On DOC land outside designated areas, you need a permit to metal detect. On private land, you need landowner permission.

Outside Designated Areas

What if you want to prospect somewhere that isn't a designated fossicking area?

• Public conservation land: You need a permit from NZPAM. Small-scale permits exist for recreational prospecting.
• Private land: You need permission from the landowner AND potentially a permit from NZPAM (since the Crown owns the minerals).
• Riverbeds: Most riverbeds are legally Crown land, managed by regional councils. Rules vary by region.
• Existing mining claims: Someone else holds the rights. Stay out unless you have their permission.

Penalties

Mining without a permit can result in fines up to $10,000 for individuals. Repeat offenders or commercial-scale illegal operations face higher penalties. Equipment can be confiscated.

In practice, enforcement tends to focus on people using motorized equipment or causing environmental damage. A recreational panner quietly working a designated area is unlikely to have problems.

Getting a Permit

If you want to go beyond basic fossicking, NZPAM offers various permit types:

• Tier 1 Minimum Impact: For small-scale hand mining, relatively easy to obtain.
• Tier 2 Permits: For more intensive operations, suction dredging, etc. Requires more documentation.
• Mining Claims: For serious prospectors, gives exclusive rights to a defined area.

The government has indicated interest in simplifying the permit process for hobby miners. Check the NZPAM website for current requirements.

The Bottom Line

For most recreational prospectors, the rules are simple: stick to designated fossicking areas, use hand tools, work in the stream bed, and take your rubbish with you. Do that, and you'll never have a problem.