By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
A MAN behind plans to mine vivianite offshore near Anglesea was fined US $20,000 for smuggling fossilised dinosaur eggs from China to the United States in 2006.
But Melbourne geologist and dealer Tamas ‘Tom’ Kapitany said he was victimised in the incident when Chinese authorities chose to interpret unclear laws to suit themselves.
The Independent revealed two weeks ago that Mr Kapitany had applied to extract the mineral from an offshore area at Anglesea’s Demon’s Bluff.
Mr Kapitany pleaded guilty to smuggling the dinosaur eggs, agreeing to spend a year on criminal probation and to forfeit the items in a plea bargain with US immigration authorities.
Mr Kapitany, who operates gem, minerals, crystals and fossils importer Crystal World, said he had openly transported similar items previously without issues.
But collecting rare items in unusual places as a modern day “Indiana Jones” sometimes presented risks, he said.
“I deal in rare and unique objects. I travel around the world to collect rarities and sometimes you can run afoul of someone.
“I’ve been in business for 30 years, I have a very good reputation and everything I have done has been done openly and legally,” Mr Kapitany said.
“Sometimes people like to find an easy target, like I was at the time. Authorities are less-concerned about protecting cultural items but more about their import or export, where money is concerned.
“Sometimes they’re a law unto themselves and do what they like.”
Mr Kapitany said he was happy to point to his record and reputation as a director of Canberra’s National Dinosaur Museum and a donor of $1 million to Melbourne Museum.
He said he worked with the British Museum and had returned to China many times since, even working with Chinese museums on dinosaur fossils.
Mr Kapitany said objectors to his extraction licence were “scaremongering” with limited information.
“They should call me and understand how minimal the impact is. There is no disturbance to ocean floor.
“This is cottage-industry level, not a big mining operation. It is simply collecting a resource that is otherwise eroding and withering away.”
He said authorites would oversee his operation “to the nth degree”.
Anglesea councillor Margot Smith said the area should remain undisturbed.
The mining proposal had “potential to destroy this pristine environment”, Cr Smith said.
