Reservation of Land from prospecting permits - Murchison and Otago

The reservations, which cover more than 17,626km², are over areas where NZP&M plan to undertake aeromagnetic and soil geochemical surveys. These surveys will gather high-quality, high-resolution data which can be used to attract minerals investment and build the understanding of New Zealand’s geology.

Under section 28A of the Crown Minerals Act 1991, the Minister of Energy and Resources has declared that prospecting permits for metallic minerals will not be granted or extended in relation to three separate areas of land in the South Island as specified in the Schedule of Reserve Areas below.

This declaration takes effect from 5 September 2016 to 8 July 2018.

As per section 28(4) of the Crown Minerals Act, this declaration does not affect any:

(a) permit application received before this declaration was published; or

(b) permit granted before this declaration was published; or

(c) right, under section 32, of the permit holder described in paragraph (b) to be granted a subsequent permit.

• Murchison reserve area map [PDF 267KB]
• Otago reserve area map [PDF 232KB]
• Schedule of reserve areas [XLSX 1.9MB]

This declaration is considered necessary to better meet the purpose of the Crown Minerals Act 1991.

Mineral exploration and mining permits can still be applied for under the reservations.