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Apply for a mineral title

The Northern Territory (NT) Government owns all minerals and extractive minerals in the NT.

This excludes uranium, which belongs to the Australian Government.

You must apply for a mineral title if you want to explore for, or mine minerals, or take extractive minerals such as sand, gravel, rock, peat or soil.

Each mineral title gives you different rights to carry out certain activities in the area specified in the title. It does not affect the underlying ownership of the land.

The submission process is the same no matter what type of mineral title you're seeking.

Once you have been granted a mineral title, you may need to apply for a separate environmental mining licence to conduct activities on the land within the title area.

Types of mineral title

There are several types of mineral title you can apply for in the NT.

Each one allows you to do certain things at different stages of the exploration and mining process.

They come with its own set of rules you need to follow.

See a summary of title types and conditions.

Exploration

If you want to carry out exploration activities, you must apply for one of the following mineral titles:

An exploration licence doesn't allow the licence holder to develop a mine, mine for minerals or extractive minerals.

Mining

If you want to mine for minerals, extract or quarry extractive minerals, you must apply for one of the following mineral titles:

After you submit your application

Find out how your application is assessed.

Tell the landowner/manager

You must consult with landowners when you apply for a mineral title and there are specific processes you must follow.

When you apply for any mineral title, you must tell each landowner affected by the application. You must do this within 14 days of submitting the application to the department.

Read more about notifying the landowner.

Applications and processes