West Coast Regional Council staff investigating a complaint about water contamination discovered a covert and illegal gold mining operation.
John Leckie, 52, of Totara Flat, was yesterday sentenced to 250 hours' community work after he admitted in Greymouth District Court a charge of prospecting, exploring or mining Crownminerals without a permit at Ikamatua, 54km northeast of Greymouth, between August 7 and September 4 last year.
He was liable to a sentence of two years' imprisonment and/or a $200,000 fine, but Judge Gary MacAskill took into account the fact that the operation had not yielded any gold, so no royalties were owed to the Crown.
The Crown had sought a fine ranging from $5000 to $10,000 to deter others from sidestepping the permit and consents processes but Leckie's financial situation ruled out a major monetary penalty.
The court heard that his gold screen was less than a kilometre from the state highway but sheltered from view by hills.
He created roads, a pond and drainage system, and had excavated parts of either side of the hill and the valley floor to carry spoil to the tumbler.
He had not applied for permits for the operation and had two similar convictions for breaching mining regulations, one in 1990 and another in 2005.
The Crown said there were 30 legal gold mining operations on the West Coast and "fly-by-nighters" like Leckie cast doubt on the honest operators.
Leckie said he was aware of his obligations but did not have the time or money to follow the onerous permit process.
