Apply for a new minerals permit
Find out how to apply for a new minerals permit and what information you will need to provide.
You need a permit to prospect, explore or mine for minerals that are part of the Crown Mineral Estate. The only exception to this is gold fossicking in some areas in the South Island.
A permit does not give you a right to access the land it covers. Generally, for exploration and mining activities, permit holders must arrange land access with the landowner/s and occupier/s. Find out more information in the factsheet below.
Land access factsheet [PDF 713KB]
Before you apply
Know what type of permit you are applying for
New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals issues permits to prospect, explore and mine Crown-owned minerals. They are defined in the Crown Minerals Act 1991 and the Minerals Programme for Minerals (Excluding Petroleum) 2025.
Minerals permits are classified as either Tier 1, Tier 2, or Tier 3.
Find out more about types of minerals permits and the different classifications on the page below.
Get familiar with the relevant legislation, rules and regulations
Look at the relevant legislation for your permit type. This includes the Crown Minerals Act 1991, the Crown Minerals (Minerals Other than Petroleum) Regulations 2007 and the Minerals Programme for Minerals (excluding Petroleum) 2025.
Overview of the minerals and petroleum regulatory environment
Refer to Schedule 2 of the Crown Minerals (Minerals Other than Petroleum) Regulations 2007 when making your application:
- Part 1 for a prospecting permit — legislation.govt.nz
- Part 2 for an exploration permit — legislation.govt.nz
- Part 3 for a mining permit — legislation.govt.nz
- Part 4 for a Tier 3 mining permit — legislation.govt.nz
Collect information and prepare supporting documents for your application
The information you need to provide in your application depends on the type of permit you are applying for.
All permit applicants will need to provide supporting information with their application. This includes:
- personal information
- financial information, and
- details of the proposed work programme.
We are in the process of creating supporting information templates to help you fill out your new minerals permit.
In the meantime, refer to the following documents when gathering supporting information for your application:
Minerals Application Guide [XLSX 25KB]
Minerals Programme for Minerals (Excluding Petroleum) 2025 [PDF 5.2MB]
- Chapter 8 for prospecting permits
- Chapter 9 for exploration permits
- Chapter 10 for mining permits
It is important to provide all the supporting information required in your application. Your application may be delayed or rejected if you don’t provide all the information needed to support your application.
Apply for your minerals permit
To apply for a minerals prospecting, exploration or mining permit see the relevant page below.
Apply for a minerals prospecting permit
Apply for a minerals exploration permit
Apply for a minerals Tier 1 or Tier 2 mining permit
Apply for a Tier 3 mining permit
Pay the correct fee
| Application type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Minerals prospecting permit | $3,450.00 including GST |
| Minerals exploration permit | $3,450.00 including GST |
| Minerals mining permit |
Tier 1 - $16,675 including GST Tier 3 - $2,783 including GST |
Information about how to pay for your application is provided in the online permitting system or in the application form. You must pay your application fee by credit card through the online permitting system.
After you apply
We will contact you to say your application has been received.
If your application does not include all the required information, it is incomplete and it will not be accepted for processing. In this case a refund of your application fee will be considered.
When your application is considered complete and valid it will enter our queue and await allocation for assessment.
Timeframes for assessing your application
We aim to process all applications within set average timeframes.
View the average number of working days it typically takes us to assess a new minerals application.
Revised timeframes for permit applications received from 1 July 2025
Privacy Act
The personal information you must include in your application is needed to process your application under the Act. You have the right under the Privacy Act 2020 and/or the Official Information Act 1982 to access information held about you by New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals and request that this information be corrected if necessary.
Contact us
We can provide information on how to apply for a permit. If you have a question, contact us.
If you want advice on the Act, regulations, or Mineral Programmes we suggest you seek independent professional advice.