Types of minerals permits

These permits are defined in the Crown Minerals Act 1991 and the Minerals Programme 2025.

Crown Minerals Act 1991 — New Zealand Legislation

Minerals Programme for Minerals (excluding petroleum) 2025 [PDF 5.2MB]

Minerals permits are classified as Tier 1, Tier 2, or Tier 3.

Tier 3 is a new tier of permit which can be applied for from 25 September 2025. You can read more about this in the information below.

Permit types

Prospecting permits

Prospecting permits allow the holder to carry out very-low impact activities to prospect for specified minerals. 

Permitted activities

• Activities under a prospecting permit are limited to those with minimal environmental impact, such as: literature searches, geological mapping, hand sampling, offshore sampling (by low-impact mechanical methods), or aerial surveys.

Permit area

• Generally, up to 500 square kilometres onshore and 5,000 square kilometres offshore. 

Permit duration

• Initial term: usually granted for 2 years
• Extension: A 2-year extension may be granted for up to half the permit area. This can be extended up to a total of 4 years from the permit commencement date.

Allocation

• Permits are granted to the first acceptable work programme. They are normally exclusive (unless a non-exclusive permit is requested).

Exploration permits

Minerals exploration permits give the holder the exclusive right to explore for specified minerals in an area.

It is not necessary to have a prospecting permit before applying for an exploration permit. It is common for operators to apply directly for an exploration permit where ‘higher impact’ activities are planned. 

Permitted activities

• Exploration permits allow for activities such as literature reviews, drilling, bulk sampling and mine feasibility studies.

Permit area

• Minimum size 150 hectares.

Permit duration

• Initial term: Usually granted for 5 years
• Extension: May be extended up to 10 years from commencement, for either half the area or 150 hectares (whichever is greater). Two 4 year appraisal extensions may be possible.

There are three ways to apply for a minerals exploration permit:

Mining permits

Minerals mining permits grant the permit holder the exclusive right to mine for specified minerals. These permits are granted where the nature and extent of the mineable mineral resource or exploitable mineral deposit is known. 

Permitted activities

• Mining permits allow for the extraction of known mineral deposits. 

Permit area

Permit size varies by tier:

• Tier 1: Size reflects the extent of the discovery and the proposed work programme
• Tier 2: Ordinarily no larger than 200 hectares
• Tier 3: No larger than 50 hectares.

Permit duration

• The duration of mining permits varies depending on the tier and the nature of the mineral resource.

Allocation Pathways

Tier 1 and Tier 2 permits may be allocated:

• for an acceptable work programme offer
• as a subsequent permit from an exploration permit
• as part of a newly available acreage (NAA) process.

Tier 3 permits may only be allocated by acceptable work programme offer.

Land Access Requirements

Holding a permit under the Crown Minerals Act does not automatically grant access to the land it covers. If the permit holder is not the landowner, they may need to negotiate an access arrangement or provide written notice depending on the activity they are undertaking. Landowners may be private individuals, iwi, or Crown agencies such as The Department of Conservation or Land Information New Zealand.

Land access factsheet [PDF 713KB]

Home — Department of Conservation

Home — Land Information New Zealand

Permit tiers

All permits issued are classified as Tier 1, Tier 2, or Tier 3 status.

Tier 1 permits

These are complex, higher-risk and higher-return mineral operations that require more proactive regulatory oversight.

Any permit is classified as Tier 1 if it:

• is related to an underground operation
• relates to an operation that is wholly or partially 50m or more beyond the seaward side of the mean high-water mark
• is not for a special purpose mining activity (an activity where a permit is granted to historical societies, museum trusts, or similar bodies to demonstrate historical mining method). 

Scope

• Prospecting permits for gold, silver, platinum group metals, coal, ironsand or any other metallic mineral (excluding alluvial gold).
• Exploration permits for the above minerals unless the expected total work programme expenditure over the final five years (or the entire duration if the permit is less than five years) is, in the Minister’s opinion, less than $1,250,000.
• Mining permits for:
  • gold, silver, and platinum group metals, if the expected annual royalty in any one of the next five years of the permit’s duration, is $50,000 or more
  • coal, ironsand or any other metallic mineral, if in any one of the next five years of the permit’s duration, the annual production will be equal to or more than:
    • 200,000 tonnes of coal
    • 500,000 tonnes of ironsand
    • 500,000 tonnes of metallic minerals ore.

Tier 2 permits

These are lower-return industrial, small business, mineral operations.

Scope

• Prospecting, exploration, mining permits, and any other permit that does not fall under the Tier 1 definition and are not classified as Tier 3.

Tier 3 permits

These are small-scale, non-commercial gold mining. Often referred to as ‘hobby or recreational mining.’ These activities were previously managed under a Tier 2 minerals permit. 

Size

• No larger than 50 hectares.

Note that the rules around gold fossicking have not changed.

Gold fossicking

Transitioning from a Tier 2 to a Tier 3 permit

If you wish to change from a Tier 2 permit to a Tier 3 permit, you must submit your application by 12 December 2026. 

Applications are open from 25 September 2025. Applications can be submitted through our online permitting system, or via a paper form.

If your current Tier 2 permit does not meet the Tier 3 requirements, you may propose changes to your permit as part of your application to help you meet the Tier 3 permit requirements.

If you have an existing Tier 2 permit application (including a change of permit) under consideration when Tier 3 comes into effect, you will be able to transition to Tier 3 without submitting a new application or proposal. 
We will contact you directly to discuss your options.

Restrictions on moving between tiers

• You cannot move from Tier 1 to Tier 3
• You cannot move from Tier 3 to Tier 1 or Tier 2.

Letters to permit holders

We will contact Tier 2 ‘hobby or recreational mining’ permit holders to discuss moving to a Tier 3 permit at no cost. 

When we contact you, we will indicate whether you appear to:  

• meet the requirements with no change; or
• be able to meet the requirements with a few small changes; or
• meet the requirements after substantial change.

Applying for a new Tier 3 permit 

Applications are open from 25 September 2025. Applications can be submitted through our online permitting system, or via a paper form. The application form and further information on how to apply will be made available by 25 September 2025.

What you need to provide

• your contact details
• the area of land your application covers 
• a map of the permit proposed permit area
• a statement explaining why you believe that gold is present in the permit area
• an estimate of how many days per year you plan to carry out mining
• an estimate of the amount of gold you expect to recover each year
• a statement and supporting evidence showing your technical and financial capability to carry out mining
• any other relevant information to support your application.

Minerals Permit Webmaps

Revised timeframes for permit applications received from 1 July 2025