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Crown Minerals Act 1991

Preliminary provisions - Duties and restrictions

8: Restrictions on prospecting or exploring for, or mining, Crown owned minerals

You could also call this:

"Rules for searching for or mining minerals on Crown land"

Illustration for Crown Minerals Act 1991

You cannot look for or mine Crown owned minerals on land unless you have a permit. You must follow the rules in sections 49, 50, 51, 53, 54, and 54A. You need to do what the permit says.

If you own or occupy land, you can take Crown owned minerals for some uses. You can use them for farming, taking care of animals, or building on your land. You can also take minerals that exist naturally on your land if there is no permit for that mineral.

You can take sand or shingle from a river or lake unless a minerals programme says you cannot. You can also take Crown owned minerals from a legal road if the road is in an area with privately owned minerals.

You can look for gold in a gold fossicking area using handheld tools, as long as you follow section 98 or 98A. This section is subject to section 86 of the Ngāti Awa Claims Settlement Act 2005.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM246306.

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Part 1Preliminary provisions
Duties and restrictions

8Restrictions on prospecting or exploring for, or mining, Crown owned minerals

  1. No person may prospect or explore for, or mine, Crown owned minerals in land unless the person—

  2. is the holder of a permit granted under this Act which authorises the holder to do so, or is authorised to do so by the holder of such a permit in accordance with the permit, or is otherwise authorised to do so under this Act; and
    1. complies with sections 49, 50, 51, 53, 54, and 54A.

      1. Subsection (1)(a) does not apply to the taking by any person of—

      2. any Crown owned mineral that—for use for any reasonable agricultural, pastoral, domestic, roadmaking, or building purpose on land of which the person is an owner or occupier; or
        1. exists in a natural state in land of which the person is an owner or occupier; and
          1. is in land which is not the subject of a permit in respect of such mineral—
          2. any sand, shingle, or other natural material in the bed of a river or a lake or in the coastal marine area unless otherwise specified in a minerals programme.

            1. Subsection (1) does not apply to the taking by any person of any Crown owned mineral in a legal road, whether formed, unformed, or stopped, if—

            2. the mineral is—
              1. coal; or
                1. a mineral (other than coal) for which a Tier 2 permit or a Tier 3 permit would, but for this provision, be required; and
                2. the road is within an area of land that otherwise contains privately owned minerals.

                  1. Subsection (1) does not prohibit prospecting or exploring for, or mining, gold in a gold fossicking area by means of hand held non-motorised machinery in accordance with section 98 or 98A.

                  2. This section applies subject to section 86 of the Ngāti Awa Claims Settlement Act 2005.

                  Notes
                  • Section 8(1)(b): amended, on , by section 4 of the Crown Minerals Amendment Act 2019 (2019 No 2).
                  • Section 8(2A): inserted, on , by section 15(1) of the Crown Minerals Amendment Act 2013 (2013 No 14).
                  • Section 8(2A)(a)(ii): amended, on , by section 11 of the Crown Minerals Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 40).
                  • Section 8(3): amended, on , by section 15(2) of the Crown Minerals Amendment Act 2013 (2013 No 14).
                  • Section 8(4): added, on , by section 87 of the Ngāti Awa Claims Settlement Act 2005 (2005 No 28).