New Zealand minerals royalty regime review

The review is considering whether current royalty settings continue to support the objectives of the Crown Minerals Act 1991, including providing a fair financial return to the Crown while supporting prospecting, exploration for, and mining of Crown-owned minerals for the benefit of New Zealand.

MBIE contracted Deloitte to provide an economic report to inform the review

Deloitte was asked to provide:

• an evaluation of the effective government take (royalties and taxes) from New Zealand’s minerals (other than petroleum) sector compared to other jurisdictions
• analysis on whether New Zealand’s royalty regime settings provide fair financial return to the Crown
• advice on alternative royalty regime settings including scenario modelling of expected effects.

Deloitte’s analysis drew on legislation, policy materials, MBIE royalty and production data from 2006 to 2025, international comparisons of selected royalty regimes; a targeted questionnaire distributed to 290 mining and exploration permit holders, 6 targeted interviews with Tier 1 and Tier 2 operators and sector representatives; and scenario modelling from 2027 to 2060.

The high-level findings from Deloitte's report include that New Zealand's minerals royalty regime is broadly fair and transparent, New Zealand's overall government take (including royalties and company tax) is broadly comparable with a number of similar overseas jurisdictions, royalty rates sit at the lower end of the international range, and around 97% of mineral royalty revenue comes from permits operating under legacy royalty regimes.

The need for a review

New Zealand's current minerals royalty regime was last comprehensively reviewed in 2012, resulting in regulations introduced in 2013. Since then, market conditions, mineral prices, industry activity and the broader policy context have evolved.

MBIE is reviewing the regime to ensure it continues to support the objectives of the Crown Minerals Act 1991, including promoting the development of Crown-owned minerals for the benefit of New Zealand and providing a fair financial return to the Crown for those resources.

MBIE's review of minerals royalty settings is continuing. The Deloitte report is one input into that work and will help inform future policy advice to Ministers. The report does not recommend a preferred policy option. The report's scenario modelling is intended to illustrate the potential impacts and trade-offs associated with different royalty settings and should not be interpreted as a forecast of future royalty revenue.

MBIE expects to provide further advice on minerals royalty settings in 2027. Any decisions on potential changes to royalty settings would be considered by a future Government.