Why were the miners unable to pay for the miner's license?

Answer 1

the miners got money from finding gold which they traded in to the geraral store to get food and things anyway some of them didn't find gold the most of them did but didn't want to pay the licenses

Answer 2

There were several reasons why the diggers on the goldfields could not pay for their licence. To begin with, the fees were exorbitant and unfair, and did not last a year, but had to be paid monthly. The diggers simply did not find enough gold to pay for the cost of renewing their licence as well as being able to pay for food. Few miners really struck it rich. There were too many people crowding the goldfields, and not enough gold for them to find easily to make it worthwhile. Many miners were also tradesmen and businessmen who had left their employment, and were not used to the incredibly hard labour of life on the goldfields. There was no workplace Health and Safety in those days - accidents were common, and men would be injured or even killed while mining.