Regulator’s Update — July 2025

Appointment of Katherine MacNeill to General Manager, Resource Markets 

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Katherine MacNeill to the role of General Manager, Resource Markets.

Katherine’s previous position was General Manager, Employment Services in Te Whakatairanga Service Delivery at MBIE, where she was responsible for economy wide delivery of the employment regulatory system.  Katherine has a background in energy and resources policy going back to her time in the UK civil service where she was deputy head of renewable energy and strategy in the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

A geothermal strategy for New Zealand 

New Zealand’s geology has given us geothermal resources, which currently provide critical baseload electricity and account for almost 20% of our electricity generation. However, geothermal resources can be utilised in numerous ways and present more opportunities than just conventional electricity generation, especially for regional and Māori economic development. 

The Government is developing a strategy to unlock the potential of our geothermal resource in applications ranging from:

• energy generation (including supercritical geothermal technology)
• tourism
• science and technology
• heat for industrial, horticultural, agricultural and residential purposes
• mineral extraction
• regional and Māori economic development. 

A draft strategy will be released for public consultation during the New Zealand Geothermal Week in Taupō in late July and finalised by the end of the year. 

Regulatory proposals for natural and orange hydrogen development

The Government has committed to enabling exploration for natural hydrogen and the development of orange hydrogen. Development of these resources in New Zealand seeks to support economic growth, energy resilience and innovation.

Natural hydrogen (also known as 'gold', 'white', 'native' and 'geological' hydrogen) is generated naturally below the surface of the earth, while orange hydrogen is engineered or artificially generated underground.

In May 2025, the Government released a discussion document on regulatory proposals for natural and orange hydrogen development, which sought feedback on key questions and regulatory approaches to enable development. Consultation on this discussion document closed 5pm Friday 4 July. MBIE will be analysing submissions and providing advice to the Minister for Resources on next steps.

Prospectivity reports — New Zealand's mineral potential

In collaboration with GNS Science, we have released three new prospectivity reports covering the Coromandel Peninsula, the West Coast of the South Island, and the Otago region. These reports provide valuable insights into New Zealand’s mineral potential.

Epithermal gold in the Coromandel Peninsula [PDF 1.2MB]

Heavy mineral sands on the West Coast, South Island [PDF 1.2MB]

Orogenic gold in Otago [PDF 1.4MB]

NZP&M Compliance to ensure responsible gold fossicking

Our Compliance team has been actively conducting site visits to permitted areas and designated gold fossicking zones across the country, to ensure adherence to regulations and promote responsible fossicking practices.

As part of its ongoing efforts, the team investigates complaints and prioritises education as a key tool for achieving compliance. Recent visits have included checks on activity in popular gold fossicking locations, with officers providing guidance and information to fossickers about legal requirements and safe practices.

In December 2024, a member of the public observed motorised equipment being used in the Arrow River’s public gold fossicking area and notified us. Use of such equipment is a prohibited activity in designated fossicking areas. The individual involved was identified and formally interviewed by a compliance officer. He stated he was unaware of Crown Minerals Act 1991 provisions about public fossicking areas and had been inspired by television shows such as Gold Diggers Australia. A formal written warning was issued, and the individual was provided with educational resources.

Phil Latimer, National Compliance Manager, noted that motorised equipment is not permitted in gold fossicking areas, and he encourages the public to visit our website for comprehensive information on gold permits and fossicking rules.

NZP&M webinar review 

On 10 June, we held a webinar to give an update on a range of topics. Thank you to everyone who attended and who asked questions either before, or during, the webinar. 

A recording of the webinar will be available on our website shortly. 

The topics covered in the webinar included:

• the Fast-track Approvals regime
• Offshore Renewable Energy
• hydrogen
• Open Market Application processes
• ban reversal 
• the establishment of a “Tier 3” permit
• decommissioning.

We hope to host another webinar before the end of the year. 

Recent industry events 

Some of our officials recently attended these industry events: 

• The International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) 2024 in Sydney
• Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) 2025 conference in Toronto 
• The Asia Pacific (APAC) Energy Capital Assembly in Singapore for oil and gas. 

We have a dedicated team for engaging with industry stakeholders at these major conferences to promote exploration and investment opportunities in New Zealand’s resource sector.

At the APAC event the Hon. Shane Jones, Minister for Resources, delivered a well-received address.

Our officials met with many oil and gas companies to discuss opportunities within New Zealand’s resources sector. Kerrin Connolly, our Manager for Business Development, who accompanied the Minister, noted “These meetings provided a fantastic platform to highlight the New Zealand Government’s significant suite of policy developments, including amendments progressing the Crown Minerals Act, the $200 million announcement in Budget 2025, and our world leading new Fast-track Approvals legislation. These changes were genuinely looked at favourably by the sector and we’ve come home very optimistic with plenty to follow up on with companies”.

Building on these event successes, we will have a booth at the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) annual conference in Queenstown from 24 to 26 August and will be exhibiting at IMARC in Sydney from 21 to 23 October 2025. Adopting a ‘NZ Inc’ approach, NZP&M will co-exhibit with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), with officials and experts ready to discuss exploration and investment with event attendees.

Changes to payments to New Zealand Petroleum & Minerals 

New Zealand banks have introduced a ‘Confirmation of Payee’ service to check if account names and account numbers match before you make a payment.

As such, when you make a new payment to ‘New Zealand Petroleum & Minerals’ via internet banking, you need to enter the ‘Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment’ as the account holder/payee name, rather than ‘New Zealand Petroleum & Minerals’.

You may like to edit the payee details for payments you’ve set up in advance, from ‘New Zealand Petroleum & Minerals’ to the ‘Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment’. This edit should trigger the confirmation of payee check. 

We will be updating the application forms on the New Zealand Petroleum & Minerals website to reflect this change.

We no longer accept cheques as a form of payment.