Crown Minerals Act 1991
The Crown
Minerals Act 1991 was the topic I wrote my
planning project on. The specific area I
looked at was planning for Petroleum in New
Zealand.
The origins
of the Crown
Minerals Act 1991, originally included
minerals as part of the Resource
Management Bill. It was under a newly
elected National government that the
Minerals section of the Bill was separated
to eventually become its own Act. This
change, though controversial at the time, aimed to
deal with the philosophical difference
between sustainably managing a resource,
such as forestry compared to a resource of
finite supply, such as oil and gas.
The
Crown Minerals Act establishes a broad legislative
policy for prospecting, exploration and
mining of
Crown
owned
minerals in New Zealand. These
include all naturally occurring gold and
silver and substantial amounts of coal and
other metallic and non-metallic
minerals
and aggregates.
The allocation of rights to prospect,
explore or mine
minerals
that are owned by the
Crown
is carried out by the issuing of permits
under the
Crown
Minerals
Act. The policy and procedures followed
in allocating the mineral resources are
determined in the
Minerals
Programmes and Regulations.
Any issues to do with the environment are dealt
with under the Resource Management
Act
1991.
Neither a permit under the
Crown
Minerals
Act
1991 or a consent under the Resource
Management
Act
1991 give a right of access to land. Land
access is determined by direct negotiation
with the landowner.
Prior to commencing any work on the ground
an applicant must ascertain and obtain what
is required in terms of:
- a
minerals permit from
Crown
Minerals
under the
Crown
Minerals
Act
1991
- an access arrangement from the landowner
and occupier
- Resource Consent from either the
District Council or the Regional Council
under the Resource Management
Act
1991.
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