Good and Bad Intentions
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Buying and selling a mine was not complicated. It was easier than buying a house.
This kind of business was so common in Lightning Ridge, that the National Bureau of Mines and the Bureau of Land Management set up an office in the town to provide services.
Li Du paid in cash, so he did not need a loan or a bank. They did the procedure together, dealing with all the formalities in a day.
He paid out $550,000 and then collected a certificate of ownership.
According to Australian land management law, as long as the government did not fail or go bankrupt, the 20 acres of land would belong to him now and always.
However, like buying a house, he had to pay taxes every year on the 20 acres he owned.