The Short Title of this Act shall be “The Nelson Crown Lands Leasing Act Amendment Act 1870.”

Clauses thirteen fourteen and fifteen of “The Crown Lands (Nelson) Leasing Act 1867” are hereby repealed.

It shall be lawful for the Waste Lands Board if they shall think fit on receipt of a fee of five pounds to grant protection for a period of not exceeding thirty days to any discoverer of auriferous land outside any proclaimed gold field of a block of such land not exceeding in any one district sixteen acres and a half on a quartz reef or ten acres on alluvial ground.

Any land so protected as aforesaid shall be marked out by posts and the word “Protected.” posted in some conspicuous place on the said land.

It shall be lawful for the Waste Lands Board if they shall think fit before the expiration of such protection to grant to the bona fide discoverer of such protected auriferous land a lease for mining purposes of the same or so much thereof as the said Board shall think proper not exceeding ten acres of alluvial ground or an area of four hundred yards by two hundred yards on a quartz reef for any term not exceeding fifteen years Provided always that no such mining lease shall be granted until fifteen days after notice of the intention to grant the same shall have been published in the Gazette of the Province and also in at least one local newspaper.

The rent to be charged on any such mining lease shall not be assessed by the Waste Lands Board at less than two pounds per acre per annum and the Waste Lands Board shall have power if they think fit to impose in such lease any of the conditions usually imposed in gold-mining leases of land within the gold fields.

In the event of land so leased being included within the boundaries of any gold field which shall be proclaimed after the issuing of such lease the land shall be deemed to be leased under the provisions of the Gold Fields Act then in operation and shall be subject to the rules and regulations in force for the time being within such gold fields and may be dealt with accordingly.

This Act and “The Crown Lands (Nelson) Leasing Act 1867” shall be taken and read together as one Act.