Snapshot of the Government's vision for minerals future, changes to the Crown Minerals Act, annual return of industrial rocks and minerals survey, permitting sprint, snapshots of minerals permit applications

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Regulator’s Update – July 2024

Kia ora,

Welcome to this issue of the Regulator’s Update – a newsletter from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) for permit holders and other people interested in the work of New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals (NZP&M).

In this issue

Government sets out vision for minerals futureChanges to the Crown Minerals Act 1991New requirements for change of control applicationsAnnual return of Industrial Rocks and Minerals SurveyPermitting sprint yields resolution of 80 per cent of historical applicationsSnapshots of minerals permit applicationsIncreasing transparency on permit application timeframesIwi engagement review meetings Seeking your feedback on the work health and safety regulatory systemNew Kermadec mineral reservationCarbon Capture Utilisation Storage (CCUS) public consultation Government sets out vision for minerals future

In May, Government set out its vision for New Zealand’s minerals sector and launched a supporting draft strategy for consultation. The strategy discusses the specific actions we could take to position the minerals sector to deliver value in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. It proposes producing a critical minerals list for New Zealand and doing a detailed stocktake of the country’s known mineral potential to enable a long-term strategic direction for the development of our minerals estate.

Read the Government’s vision for New Zealand’s minerals sector [https://www.beehive.govt.nz/speech/new-zealand%E2%80%99s-minerals-future]

Have you say on the draft strategy before 31 July 2024 [https://www.mbie.govt.nz/have-your-say/proposed-minerals-strategy-to-2040]

Changes to the Crown Minerals Act 1991

The Government has announced proposed changes to the Crown Minerals Act 1991 to meet New Zealand’s gas security challenges and create economic opportunities for the benefit of all New Zealanders.

The package of proposed changes includes the following:

reversing the 2018 ban on new petroleum exploration outside onshore Taranakichanges to how petroleum exploration permits are allocatedchanges to the petroleum decommissioning requirements to better balance regulatory burden and riskthe introduction of a new tier of mineral permitting to make it easier to undertake small-scale non-commercial gold mining.

The Government is not proposing any changes to the way MBIE and permit holders engage with iwi and hapū during the decision-making process for rights under the Crown Minerals Act. It is not proposing to repeal the changes that were made in 2023 to how iwi and hapū can engage with permit holders.

Interested parties will be able to have their say on these proposed changes during the Select Committee process following the introduction of the Amendment Bill in the second half of 2024.

Proposed amendments to the Crown Minerals Act 1991 [https://www.mbie.govt.nz/building-and-energy/energy-and-natural-resources/energy-consultations-and-reviews/2024-proposed-amendments-to-the-crown-minerals-act-1991]

New requirements for change of control applications

On 6 June 2024, new requirements relating to change of control applications came into force. These impact Tier 1 permit operators who apply for a change of control to their petroleum and minerals permits.

The new requirements follow Cabinet’s agreement in 2021 to make minor and technical amendments to regulations, to specify application requirements and the recovery of fees for change of control of operator applications.

The changes are intended to speed up application processing times by clearly stating the information required for a change of control application. The changes also introduce a processing fee for applications:

$3,450 including GST for petroleum applications, and$2,530 including GST for minerals applications.

The new requirements have been added to the following regulations:

Crown Minerals (Petroleum) Regulations 2007 [https://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2007/0138/latest/DLM437863.html] Crown Minerals (Minerals Other than Petroleum) Regulations 2007 [https://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2007/0399/latest/DLM1120013.html] Crown Minerals (Petroleum Fees) Regulations 2016 [https://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2016/0274/latest/DLM7031238.html] Crown Minerals (Minerals Fees) Regulations 2016 [https://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2016/0275/latest/DLM7030945.html]

The application form (APP 06A - Application for consent to change of control for a permit operator of a Tier 1 permit only) is currently being updated to accommodate these new requirements.

For more information, please visit:

Minerals - Change of control [APP-06] [https://www.nzpam.govt.nz/permits/minerals/change-permit/app-06] Change of control - Petroleum permits [https://www.nzpam.govt.nz/permits/petroleum/apply-manage/app-06] Annual Return of Industrial Rocks and Minerals Survey NOW LIVE

The 2023 Annual Return of Industrial Rocks and Minerals survey is now live. We are collecting production data from quarries for the calendar year 2023.

Survey results provide an indication of the materials that have been extracted in New Zealand each year. The data is crucial for regulators and the industry to gain insights into mineral extraction and to inform business decisions and policy development.

We urge you to participate.

For more information, or to participate in this survey, visit: Annual minerals industry statistics and survey [https://www.nzpam.govt.nz/nz-industry/nz-minerals/minerals-statistics/industry-statistics]

Or email us with any questions at [NZPAM-QuarriesSurvey@mbie.govt.nz]

Permitting sprint yields resolution of 80 per cent of historical applications

A sprint to resolve over 150 outstanding historical permit applications by the end of June has dropped the queue of applications received before 1 July 2023 by over 80 per cent.

As of 30 June, NZP&M have resolved 120 of the 150 outstanding historical mineral permit applications and 10 of the 12 historical petroleum applications.

Focus on resolving outstanding minerals permit applications [https://www.nzpam.govt.nz/about/news/focus-on-resolving-outstanding-minerals-permit-applications]

Snapshots of minerals permit applications

We have published snapshots of the minerals permit applications statistics for the quarters ending March and June 2024. These snapshots provide insights into the number of minerals permit applications we received, and the decisions made.

Snapshot of minerals permit applications – January to end of March [https://www.nzpam.govt.nz/about/news/snapshot-of-minerals-permit-applications-january-to-end-of-march]

Snapshot of minerals permit applications – April to end of June [https://www.nzpam.govt.nz/about/news/snapshot-of-minerals-permit-applications-april-to-end-of-june-2024]

Increasing transparency on permit application timeframes

Following the work to resolve historical permit applications, we have now introduced processing timeframes for minerals and petroleum applications received on and from 1 July 2024, and will publish performance results quarterly.

This is part of an ongoing improvements programme for our permitting system including processes to ensure we are an effective, consistent, and timely regulator.

An improved permitting system means a better experience and more certainty for potential and current permit holders in planning and delivering their work programmes.

The first quarterly publication of our performance results, for the period 1 July 2024 to 30 September 2024, will occur in early October 2024.

Read more about increasing transparency on permit application timeframes [https://www.nzpam.govt.nz/about/news/increasing-transparency-on-permit-application-timeframes]

Iwi engagement review meetings

The Crown Minerals Act 1991 (the Act) was amended in August 2023 to set clearer expectations about how Tier 1 permits holders engage with iwi and hapū, and how that engagement is reported to New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals (NZP&M).

The amendment saw section 33CA added to the Act. This enables relevant iwi and hapū to request a meeting with a permit holder and NZP&M to discuss that permit holder’s iwi engagement report, and other matters relating to its engagement with iwi and hapū.

“Relevant iwi or hapū” means an iwi or hapū whose rohe includes all or some of the permit area, or who otherwise may be directly affected by the permit.

A process is in place that sets out how we will manage meeting requests and coordinate the iwi engagement review meetings.

If we receive a request, we will inform the relevant permit holder and, where the request meets the requirements of the Act, the permit holder will be required to attend an iwi engagement review meeting.

We may look to align iwi engagement review meetings with other regional engagements (such as annual review meetings), to ensure that permit holders and iwi and hapū can meet kanohi ki te kanohi (face to face) where possible.

Iwi engagement review meetings [https://www.nzpam.govt.nz/permits/engaging-with-maori/iwi-engagement-review-meetings]

Seeking your feedback on the work health and safety regulatory system

MBIE wants to hear about your experiences with New Zealand’s work, health and safety regulatory system, which includes the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.

We want to understand:

how you think it’s working nowwhat you think works well, andwhat you think should change.

The Government wants a system that supports businesses to focus on preventing harm to workers and minimises compliance costs. Your feedback will inform our advice to Ministers on improvements to the work health and safety system.

The consultation is open until 31 October 2024.

Learn more about the consultation, including how to provide feedback, on MBIE’s Have your Say page.

Seeking your feedback on the work health and safety regulatory system [https://www.mbie.govt.nz/have-your-say/work-health-and-safety]

Carbon Capture Utilisation Storage (CCUS) consultation NOW LIVE

The Government proposes creating a clear regulatory landscape for CCUS that provides a level playing field for this technology.

For more information, or to participate in the consultation, visit Proposed regulatory regime for Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) [https://www.mbie.govt.nz/have-your-say/proposed-regulatory-regime-for-carbon-capture-utilisation-and-storage]

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New Zealand Petroleum & Minerals

PO Box 1473

Wellington 6140

New Zealand

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