Snapshot of minerals permit applications – April to end of June
See a snapshot of minerals permit applications we received and made decisions on from 1 April to 30 June 2023.
We assess applications and issue permits to operators to prospect, explore and develop New Zealand’s mineral and petroleum resources.
These could be applications for new permits, or to make changes to current permits. We assess these applications against the legislative requirements to determine whether they should be granted.
The information below gives you a snapshot of the types of minerals related applications we received, and the permit applications we made decisions on, between 1 April and 30 June 2023.
Permit applications can take varying times for us to assess. It depends on the nature of the application, its complexity, and the completeness and quality of the information that has been provided.
New mineral applications
New minerals applications received – 29
New minerals applications – type of permit
This table shows the permit type of the new applications we received.
18 were for exploration permits, 6 were for mining permits, 5 were for prospecting permits.
Decisions made on new applications
Decisions could mean they were either approved, declined, rejected or withdrawn – 25
Decisions made on new applications – type of permit
This table shows the permit type of the new applications we made decisions on.
11 were for mining permits, 9 were for exploration permits, 5 were for prospecting permits.
Decisions made on applications – where they’re located
West Coast Region: 10
Southland Region: 4
Canterbury Region: 3
Otago Region: 3
Tasman Region: 2
Waikato Region: 2
Marlborough Region: 1
Decisions made on new applications – mineral type
This graph shows the types of minerals. Gold 20, Silver 9, Aluminium 8, Antimony 8, Bismuth 8, Chromium 8, Cobalt 8, Copper 8, Ilmenite 8, Iron 8, Ironsand 8, Lead 8, Lithium 8, Magnesium 8, Magnetite 8, Manganese 8, Molybdenum 8, Nickel 8, Platinum Group Minerals 8, Rare Earth Elements 8, Rutile 8, Sodium 8, Strontium 8, Tantalum 8, Tin 8, Titanium 8, Tungsten 8, Vanadium 8, Yttrium 8, Zinc 8, Zirconium 8.
Applications to make changes to current minerals permits
Change applications received – 43
Decisions made on applications to change a permit
Decisions could mean they were either approved, declined, rejected or withdrawn – 35
Decisions made on applications to change a permit – type of change
This graph shows 20 of the change applications we made decisions on were for the 'permit' category, 7 were for full surrenders of a permit, 5 were for change in operator or transfer, 1 was for amalgamation of a permit, 1 was for a change of control, 1 was for a consent for a dealing.
The ‘Permit’ category includes change applications such as extension of duration, change of conditions, change of minerals or extension of land.
Decisions made on applications to change a permit – what permit type they were for
The graph shows 27 of the change applications we made decisions on were for mining permits, 7 were for exploration permits and 1 was for a prospecting permit.
Learn more about mineral permits
To learn more about the minerals industry and what the permit types mean, see our website.
We also have two tools you can use to learn more about minerals permits across New Zealand.
The Online Permitting System
Our Online Permitting System lets people apply for, manage, and make changes to permits online. Members of the public can also use it to find information about granted permits and permit applications.
You do not need to register or login to do a public search. Find out more about how to use the public search at the link below.
Online permitting system – using the public search
Go to the online permitting system
The Minerals Permits Webmap
Our Minerals Permit Webmap is an online map using real-time data to show all current minerals permits and applications in New Zealand.
Go to the Minerals Permit Webmap