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What are my obligations?
Surrender or partial surrender of a permit
Permit changes (amendments, extensions of minerals, land or duration)
Making royalty returns and payments
Six monthly interim royalty statement form
Reporting to the Crown on prospecting and exploration
Reports on prospecting and exploration activities
Annual summary on prospecting and exploration
Annual statement of expenditure on prospecting and exploration
The following outlines the requirements and procedures for explorers and miners in New Zealand as set out in the Crown Minerals (Minerals and Coal) Regulations 2007.
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Applying for permit changes
Surrender or partial surrender of a permit
Permit holders must use the form prescribed in Schedule 2 of the regulations to serve notice of a surrender or partial surrender of a permit under section 40 of the Crown Minerals Act 1991. Copies of this form can be downloaded here from the website or obtained from Crown Minerals.
Permit transfers or dealings
Permit holders must use the form prescribed in Schedule 3 of the regulations to apply under section 41(2) of the Crown Minerals Act 1991 for the Minister’s consent to an agreement to transfer or otherwise deal with a permit. Copies of this form can be downloaded here or obtained from Crown Minerals.
Permit changes (amendments, extensions of minerals, land or duration)
The regulations set out the information that permit holders are required to provide in any application to amend permit conditions, extend the minerals or land to which the permit relates or extend the duration of a permit.
Applications must be in a form acceptable to the Secretary. Copies of the following application forms can be downloaded from the website or obtained from Crown Minerals:
Making royalty returns and payments
The conditions of a mining permit will specify the applicable royalty regime which will be dependent on the relevant minerals programme. Mining permits under the Minerals Programme for Minerals (other than coal and petroleum) 1996 and the Minerals Programme for Coal 1996 will be subject to a hybrid regime comprising an ad valorem royalty (AVR) and an accounting profits royalty (APR). Those mining permits under the Minerals Programme for Minerals (Excluding Petroleum) 2008 will be subject to either a specific rate royalty (for low value to volume minerals) or a tiered ad valorem royalty (for precious metals and platinum group elements).
Holders of mining permits will be notified by Crown Minerals when a royalty return is due.
Annual royalty return form
All mining permit holders are required by the regulations to make an annual royalty return in a form acceptable to the Secretary. The appropriate royalty forms will be provided to permit holders by Crown Minerals or can be downloaded from the website.
Minerals Programme for Minerals (other than coal and petroleum) 1996 [455 kB PDF] and
Minerals Programme for Coal 1996 [405 kB PDF]
The annual royalty (AR) return form [156 kB PDF] must be used by permit holders to calculate the holder’s royalty liability. The form provides a standard approach to the supply of information on the calculation of royalties, particularly the accounting profits royalty. It is divided into parts A, B and C, so that mining permit holders can be sent only those parts of the form to fill out that are appropriate for their scale of activities.
Where annual net sales revenues from a mining permit are under $100,000 (or average less than $8,333 per month if the reporting period is less than 12 months), then no royalty is payable, but the permit holder must submit an annual return stating the net sales revenues (if any) and signing the declaration in part A of the AR form.
Where net sales revenues are $100,000 or greater but $1 million or less (or average more than $8,333 and up to and including $83,333 per month if the reporting period is less than12 months), an AVR at a rate of one percent of net sales revenues is payable and permit holders are required to complete and forward part A of the AR form.
Where a mining permit holder has annual net sales revenues greater than $1 million (or greater than $83,333 per month if the reporting period is less than 12 months) the royalty payable is the higher of either one percent of the net sales revenues (AVR) or a five percent accounting profits royalty (APR) and the mining permit holder must complete parts A, B, and C if appropriate, of the AR form.
Minerals Programme for Minerals (Excluding Petroleum) 2008 [2.5 MB PDF]
Annual royalty return form SRR/AR [137 kB PDF] must be used by holders of mining permits subject to a specific rate royalty to calculate the royalty payable. No royalty is payable if the specific rate royalty calculated as payable for the year is less than $2,000 (or averages less than $167 per month if the return period is less than 12 months) but the permit holder must submit an annual return stating production, if any, and sales value and signing the declaration.
Annual royalty return form AVR/AR [156 kB PDF] must be used by holders of mining permits subject to the tiered ad valorem royalty to calculate the royalty payable. No royalty is payable if the net sales revenues from a permit are less than $200,000 for the year (or average less than $16,666 per month if the reporting period is less than 12 months) but the permit holder must submit an annual return stating the net sales revenues, if any, and signing the declaration.
Six monthly Interim Royalty Statement form
Where interim royalty payments are to be forwarded, these must be accompanied by an interim statement in a form acceptable to the Secretary explaining how these have been calculated. The appropriate interim royalty statement forms will be provided to permit holders by Crown Minerals or can be downloaded from the website.
Final Royalty Return Form
A permit holder who transfers a permit, or whose permit expires or is surrendered or revoked, must make a final royalty return and payment in accordance with the regulations.
Reporting to the Crown on prospecting and exploration
Section 90 of the Crown Minerals Act 1991 requires all permit holders to keep and forward detailed records and reports on all prospecting and exploration activities undertaken by or on behalf of the permit holder in accordance with the Crown Minerals (Minerals and Coal) Regulations 2007 (‘the regulations’).
The regulations set out the reports and records that all permit holders are required to keep and forward and how the requirements apply to prospecting, exploration and mining permit holders.
Holders of permits with general conditions requiring them to report on prospecting and exploration activities are now exempt from those permit conditions. All prospecting and exploration permit holders are now subject to the standard reporting requirements of the regulations.
Reports on prospecting and exploration activities
All permit holders (i.e. prospecting, exploration and mining) that undertake prospecting or exploration are required to forward to the Secretary an electronic copy of all records and reports on prospecting or exploration activities undertaken under their permit, not later than 40 working days after the anniversary of the commencement of the permit, in an acceptable format as defined in the Mineral and Coal Digital Data Submission Standards April 2008 [108 kB PDF]
Annual summary report on prospecting and exploration
Holders of prospecting and exploration permit are required to provide an annual summary report of work undertaken in the preceding year not later than 40 working days after the annual anniversary of the commencement of the permit. At the request of the permit holder, the Secretary may approve an alternative reporting period.
The report must be in a form acceptable to the Secretary [see summary report and expenditure form] [181.4 kB PDF] and is intended to provide a summary of all prospecting and exploration work undertaken. It should not include results or interpretation.
Annual statement of expenditure on prospecting and exploration
Holders of prospecting and exploration permit are required to provide an annual summary report of work undertaken in the preceding year not later than 40 working days after the annual anniversary of the commencement of the permit. At the request of the permit holder, the Secretary may approve an alternative reporting period.
The report must be in a form acceptable to the Secretary [see summary report and expenditure form][181.4 kB PDF] and is intended to provide a summary of all prospecting and exploration work undertaken. It should not include results or interpretation.
Relinquishment report
If a permit holder surrenders or relinquishes part of a permit area, regulation 42 requires that the permit holder provides the Secretary with a relinquishment report listing the reports on prospecting and exploration activities that have been provided that relate to:
the entire permit area; and
the permit area surrendered or relinquished; and
the permit area to be retained
This information is needed to determine the extent to which, if any, the information contained in a report must be made available if someone requests it.
Lodgement of core and samples
Providing core and other samples to the Crown can be costly for permit holders so the regulations do not require core or other samples to be forwarded as a matter of course. However, a permit holder has an obligation to ensure that any core or samples collected are stored in manner that will minimise degradation. The regulations also set out specifications for any core to be provided to ensure that it can be archived.
There are two means by which a permit holder may be required to lodge core and samples with the Crown:
- on receipt of a request from the Secretary for a representative sample of core and/or samples; or
- if the permit holder intends to dispose of any core material
