Miner's Right

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}

{{for|the 1891 play|The Miner's Right}}

The Miner's Right was introduced in 1855 in the colony of Victoria, replacing the Miner's Licence. Protests in 1853 at Bendigo with the formation of the Anti-Gold Licence Association and the rebellion of Eureka Stockade in December 1854 at Ballarat led to reform of the system with a lower annual fee of five shillings for the right to mine gold, the right to vote, and the right to own land. Previously, the mining licence cost eight pounds a year.

In Ballarat as at 1978 some houses were still held with the tenure associated with a miner's right.{{cite book | last = Bate | first = Weston | authorlink = Weston Bate | title = Lucky City: The First Generation at Ballarat: 1851 - 1901 | year = 1978 | publisher = Melbourne University Press | location = Carlton, Victoria, Australia | isbn = 0-522-84157-0 | page = 91}}

Other Australian colonies and New Zealand soon replaced the licensing system with Miner's Rights also.

Miner's Rights are still sold in Victoria. A Miner's Right allows recreational fossickers to remove and keep minerals discovered on Crown Land, their own land or private land where the landowner has given permission within certain conditions. The cost {{as of|July 2024|lc=y}} is $27.80 for 10 years. {{Cite web |last=Department of Jobs |first=Precincts and Regions |title=Recreational fossicking |url=https://earthresources.vic.gov.au/licensing-approvals/recreational-fossicking |accessdate=1 January 2025 |website=Earth Resources}}