228
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
[No. 8

things referred to in section 64 of the Mining Act or in these regulations, and any person does any of those things without having the necessary qualification, he shall acquire no right by virtue or in respect of the thing so done; and, if in any civil proceedings before the Warden or the Warden’s Court he fails by reason of not having the necessary qualification, costs shall be given against him:

Provided nevertheless that at any time either before any such proceedings are actually commenced, or during the progress thereof, but before the decision of the Warden or the Court has been actually given therein, he may acquire the necessary qualification in the manner and subject to the conditions following, that is to say,—

(a.) He may apply for such and so many antedated miners’ rights as would have conferred the necessary qualification if they had been taken out and issued on the ante-dates specified therein.

(b.) There shall be payable in respect of each such antedated miner’s right the ordinary fee where the date of actual issue is not more than one month later than the ante-date, and in any other case a special fee equal to twice the ordinary fee.

(c.) On payment of the requisite ordinary or special fee, the antedated miners’ rights shall be issued to him, bearing in each case the date of its actual issue, and also the ante-date; and each such miner’s right shall operate as if it had been actually issued on the ante-date.

(d.) If the application for the antedated miner’s right is made in the course of civil proceedings, it shall not be issued unless the applicant not only pays the requisite special fee, but also either pays or gives satisfactory security for the payment of such of the costs and expenses incurred by all other parties to the proceedings up to the time of the actual issue of the miner’s right as will be rendered fruitless by reason of such issue; the amount of such costs to be fixed, if necessary, by the Warden.

PROSPECTING.

Prospecting Warrants and Licenses.

6. The application for a prospecting warrant or prospecting license may be in such one of the forms numbered 5 to 7 in the First Schedule hereto as is applicable; and the warrant or license may be in such one of the forms numbered 8 to 13 in that Schedule as is applicable.

7. In the case of a prospecting license, the applicant, before making his application, shall mark out the ground in the same manner as in the case of a claim.

8. In the case of prospecting warrants or licenses relating to Native land, the following provisions shall apply:—

(1.) The applicant shall transmit the application to the Minister at Wellington, and at the same time shall forward to him £3 in the case of a warrant, and £5 in the case of a license, to abide the disposal of the application, and to be applied in or towards payment of license-fee, survey-fees, advertising, and other expenses connected with the application, and shall for the same purpose forward to the Minister such further sums as and when the Minister requests.

(2.) The Minister shall, on behalf of the Governor, cause the application to be notified, inquired into, and dealt with as he thinks fit, and for that purpose he may authorise any Warden or other fit person to hear the same and all or any objections thereto.

(3.) For the purposes of the last-preceding sub-clause hereof the person authorised as aforesaid shall have all the powers and jurisdiction of a Warden, save that in lieu of deciding the application himself he shall report thereon to the Minister.

9. In the case of prospecting warrants or licenses relating to other than Native land, the application shall be dealt with by the Warden under such of the provisions of section 136 of the Mining Act and the regulations relating thereto as are applicable.

10. With respect to the renewal of tunnel prospecting licenses the following provisions shall apply:—

(1.) The licensee desiring the renewal shall, not more than two months nor less than one month before the expiry of the current term, make application for the renewal in the same manner, mutatis mutandis, as in the case of the original license.

(2.) The renewal shall not be granted unless the Governor in the case of Native land, or the Warden in the case of other than Native land, is satisfied that all the conditions of the license have been faithfully fulfilled by the licensee during the term next preceding the term of the renewal.

(3.) If the renewal is granted it shall be effected by indorsing on the license the words “Renewed for one year from the day of , 1 ,” under the hand of the Minister on behalf of the Governor in the case of Native land, or under that of the Warden in the case of other than Native land.

11. Every prospecting license, or renewal of a tunnel prospecting license, shall, before the issue thereof, be transmitted to the Registrar, who shall register the same, and then issue the same to the person entitled thereto, upon being satisfied that the license- or renewal-fee, and all survey-fees and advertising and other expenses, have been duly paid.

12. A prospecting warrant shall, whilst it continues in force, confer upon the holder thereof the same non-exclusive right of prospecting on the land to which it relates as by section 67 of the Mining Act the holder of a miner’s right is entitled to in respect of Crown land; but, as in the case of a miner’s right, so also in the case of a prospecting warrant, the mere fact of his being the holder thereof shall not confer upon him any rights as against any person who takes up a claim on the land, or acquires any other mining privilege in respect thereof.

13. The priority of right which by subsection (11) of section 71 of the Mining Act is conferred upon the holder of a prospecting license shall be exercisable in the manner and subject to the conditions following, that is to say,—

(1.) The holder or any other person may at any time apply for a license for any mining privilege in respect of the whole or any portion of the land comprised in the prospecting license, and the Warden, if and when he grants the application, shall cancel the prospecting license:

Provided that, if the mining privilege is in respect of less than the whole of the land comprised in the prospecting license, the Warden, in lieu of canceling the prospecting license altogether, may in his discretion cancel it merely as to so much of the land as is comprised in such mining privilege.

(2.) If the application for the mining privilege is made by any other person than the holder of the prospecting license, the application shall not be granted unless the Warden is satisfied that the holder has been notified thereof and does not object thereto, or, if objecting thereto, has not, within ten days after receipt of such notification, himself made application.

(3.) If such last-mentioned application is made it shall have priority.

CLAIMS.

Classes and Subdivisions of Claims.

14. Claims are divided into the following classes, according to size:—

(1.) Ordinary claims.

(2.) Extended claims.

(3.) Special claims.

15. Each class of claims is subdivided as follows, according to the nature of the ground and of the operations:—

(1.) Alluvial claims: meaning thereby claims worked in alluvial ground, not being dredging or river claims as hereinafter defined.

(2.) Dredging claims: meaning thereby claims worked by means of dredges.

(3.) River claims: meaning thereby claims worked in the beds or on the banks of watercourses, not being alluvial or dredging claims as hereinbefore defined.

(4.) Quartz claims: meaning thereby claims worked on quartz or other reefs, or cement or other deposits, by means of crushing, roasting, or chemical process.

(5.) Sea-beach claims: meaning thereby claims on the sea-beach and extending seawards, howsoever the same are worked.

Form, Area, and Dimensions of Claims.

16. Subject to the specific provisions hereinafter contained relating to specific claims, the form of every claim shall as far as practicable be four-sided, each side being as far as practicable measured in a straight line, and no one side exceeding twice the length of any other side:

Provided that, within the limits prescribed by section 76 of the Mining Act, the form and dimensions as specified by this clause may be varied to such extent as, having regard to the circumstances of the case, the Warden thinks reasonable.

17. The area of alluvial claims shall not exceed—

(1.) For an ordinary claim, 1 acre if held under license, and 10,000 square feet if held otherwise than under license.