Claim vs Fossicking

If you are digging on a hand mining claim, this means you have gone through the process with the Mines Department of the Queensland Government to lease the claim land for 5 or 10 years to dig for sapphires. You can either buy the lease of a claim from a previous owner or you can peg new claim land. A claim is your own, no one else can dig on your claimed land. On claimed hand mining land, you are allowed to use powered hand tools, such as a jackhammer to help ease the digging process. You can also claim land that is dedicated to machinery mining which allows you to use dozers, excavators, dump trucks etc. You cannot hand-mine on dedicated machinery mining land and vice versa. 

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If you are fossicking, you are required to obtain a fossicking license from the Mines Department to dig on fossicking land. Dedicated fossicking land is Government owned and anyone who has a fossicking license can dig on that land. You are NOT allowed to use any powered tools whilst digging on fossicking land, only tools like picks and shovels can be used.