Who we are and our role
We're part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). We administer the Crown Minerals Act.
Who we are
New Zealand Petroleum & Minerals (NZP&M) is a brand name used by the Resource Markets branch of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).
MBIE administers the Crown Minerals Act (CMA) 1991 (and its predecessors) on behalf of the New Zealand Government.
What we regulate
We regulate the right to prospect, explore, and mine Crown-owned minerals on behalf of the Minister of Resources.
Under the Crown Minerals Act we issue permits to operators to explore and develop New Zealand’s mineral and petroleum resources based on their technical and financial competence.
In return for a permit, operators must pay fees and royalties, and provide us with geoscience and geospatial digital information and related drilling samples. We monitor operators’ compliance with their permits and make sure New Zealand is getting a fair financial return for the nation’s resources.
MBIE also provides policy advice to the government to make sure this system is working. This includes making sure that that we have a framework to issue permits, and the compliance tools we need.
New Zealand Petroleum & Minerals introduction video
This video explains the role of the Resource Markets branch at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
Topics covered during the video include:
Minerals and what they are used for, what the Resource Markets Branch is responsible for, how minerals will assist as New Zealand transitions to clean energy, the Crown Minerals Act.
Soft background music plays throughout the video. This video is animated.
[New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals logo]
[Cell phone shows alarm alert. Narration begins. Background shows a kitchen with appliances such as refrigerators, microwave ovens, ovens and the cell phone. A selection of elements contained within the appliance are highlighted with their associated atomic number, symbol and atomic mass]
Narrator: Resources are essential to our way of life, and we need them for almost everything in our modern world.
[The scene changes to the exterior of the house which has solar panels on the front lawn, and an electric car being charged at a charging station. More elements pop up]
Narrator: From cooking our food, powering our homes and businesses, providing the technology we rely on
[Now a bird’s eye view over showing an orange square representing a vehicle travelling across an area. Red dots appear and these are detailed with pop-outs which zoom in to features such as bridges which are also identified by their composite elements]
Narrator: And building our infrastructure such as homes, roads, railroads and bridges. We also need resources to fuel our vehicles and to drive our economy.
[Still a bird’s eye view but a shift in scene transitioned by passing clouds. A pop out shows people talking, meeting, pointing and using a laptop at a desk. More elements revealed. A wharenui also appears zoomed in. In the background, the vehicle is still moving along a road. The beehive appears zoomed in]
Narrator: We are the Resource Markets Branch, and we lead the management and responsible development of New Zealand’s mineral and petroleum resource sectors. We do this while working with our treaty partners, the tangata whenua of Aotearoa. We advise the government and develop the policy to make sure we have the minerals needed to power our economy, build infrastructure and transition to clean energy.
[Remaining in bird’s eye view, another series of clouds transitions the video to a more rural background. It zooms in on a hydro dam and wind turbines, and some of their associated elements. The video zooms in on paper representing the Crown Minerals Act. The orange vehicle continues its journey and travel past a quarry. The video zooms in and show diggers]
Narrator: We administer the Crown Minerals Act where we grant permits and regulate the right to prospect, explore and mine Crown-owned minerals and petroleum.
[Video moves to a blue screen with grid lines across it. Graphs and lists appear, and other shaded images of houses next to fault lines and approaching tsunami]
Narrator: Everything we do is informed by data and we look after a world-class earth science data set that is essential to the efficient functioning of the resources market. This data has also been used in climate studies, earthquake and tsunami hazard analysis and more.
[Blue screen remains with new images appearing-a solar panel, wind turbine and electric car charger. The turbine is spinning. Atomic number symbol and atomic mass appear for Lithium, Cobalt and Silicon]
Narrator: Everything around us comes from resources. As we move to a low emissions economy, resources are playing an even more significant role in our lives. Energy transition minerals such as lithium, silicon and cobalt are becoming more important as components of clean technology.
[Back to a bird’s eye view of a landscape with the orange vehicle travelling on a road]
Narrator: Our way of life requires that the mineral and petroleum sectors support and respect the environment and are fair and socially responsible.
[Now back at ground level, hills, clouds and lake appear with 2 buildings. The orange vehicle pulls up outside]
Narrator: These sectors create job opportunities, support regional businesses and generate substantial tax revenue that funds science, infrastructure and public services.
[New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals logo and the URL for the New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals website, nzpam.govt.nz. Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and logo appears. Text on screen: Te Kawanatanga o Aotearoa Music stops, end of video]
Narrator: What we do matters to New Zealand.