Inverell's Robert John Walburn, 65, and Jedadiah Blake Walburn, 36, were convicted in Inverell Local Court on December 23.

They were fined $60,000 each for three offences of mining without authorisation under section 5 of the Mining Act 1992.

Resources Regulator's Executive Director, Peter Day, warned others that mining must only take place when the activities have been appropriately assessed, approved and regulated.

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"Undertaking mining without an authorisation and regulatory oversight places the environment and the State's resources at risk," Mr Day explained.

"The Regulator and the community expect compliance with the NSW mining laws.

"The convictions and fines send a strong message that unlawful mining will not be tolerated."

Charges were laid following an inspection carried out by the regulator staff on November 16, 2020, which identified the two men using earth-moving and screening equipment to extract sapphires.

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It had been suspected that illegal mining was taking place on a property on Rickey's Lane Sapphire, near Inverell, and inspectors identified a number of locations on the property where mining had occurred without authorisation.

At the time of the arrests, a Regulator spokesperson said busts like this weren't very common, with the most recent charge of this kind occurring in 2019.

"Thankfully instances of illegal mining are not common, however when they do occur we treat them very seriously," they told the Times.

"For example, in 2019 we prosecuted Mudgee Stone for unlawful mining."

Mudgee Stone Co Pty Ltd and its company director were convicted and fined in Downing Centre Local Court and ordered to pay costs totaling $340,000 for a range of offences following prosecution by the Resources Regulator.

In delivering the sentence to the Walburn pair in December, the court ordered both Robert Walburn and Jedadiah Walburn be convicted and fined a total of $60,000 each, with 50 per cent moiety of the fine to be paid to the prosecutor, and $5000 be paid by each defendant for the prosecutor's legal costs.

The maximum penalty for an offence of mining without authorisation is $1.1 million dollars in the case of a corporation and $220,000 or imprisonment for five years, or both, in the case of an individual.

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