The proposal, announced by state Natural Resources and Mines Minister Andrew Cripps, targets the provision of greater flexibility in tenure application processes, quicker assessments and greater certainty about assessment time frames.
The reform program highlights the concerns of small operators in the alluvial mining sector, noting that the companies can turn a profit in areas where larger players don't consider projects to be economically viable.
"These small gold operators are important for commercial business in remote communities, particularly in north Queensland, as they make a significant contribution to regional economies and support hundreds of local jobs," Cripps said.
"Research has shown that in view of Queensland's geological diversity, there's potential for the discovery of new gold deposits, so it's important to upgrade and streamline our services.
"Small-scale gold miners will now be able to use mapping and satellite imagery to mark out the area of their proposed operations rather than using the traditional practice of physically pegging out their claims."
Cripps said the government was looking at facilitating compensation agreements specific to particular properties, making the notification and objection process more efficient.
"We're also proposing to increase the size of leases that can be applied for during the two-month moratorium on land released from an exploration permit," he said.
The reforms have been prepared through a discussion paper aimed at consulting the industry titled Reducing Red Tape for Small Scale Alluvial Mining.
Recommendations offered by various stakeholders in the paper included more flexibility in requirements for identifying boundaries by pegging and alternatives to physical inspection of boundary markings before an application could proceed.
Other issues raised included the need to address adverse public opinion about mining, more efficient notification and objection processes and streamlining of compensation agreements.
Submissions for the discussion paper will close on July 26.
