Mineral exploration

Mineral exploration refers to a range of activities to help determine if there are minerals under the ground.

If the exploration process identifies that mineralisation is at levels large enough to be commercially extracted, then mining in the future may be possible.

Initial exploration activities, such as mapping, will start over a large area and then target smaller and smaller areas.

Exploration for minerals may involve:

• geological mapping
• geophysical surveys
• geochemical sampling
• drilling.

Exploration licence

You must have an exploration licence to do any mineral exploration, except for certain types of preliminary exploration.

A mineral exploration licence allows you to search for minerals which, if discovered, are usually mined as raw materials for processing or export.

You can't develop a mine or mine for minerals or extractive minerals under an exploration licence.

Find out how to apply to explore or mine.

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. This is required under the Environment Protection Act 2019.

Read the guide

Before you apply for an exploration licence, you should read the guide to mineral exploration in the Northern Territory (NT).

The guide provides an overview of legislative requirements in the NT, from applying for an exploration licence through to operational requirements after grant.

It is not a statutory document, but will help you to understand more about:

• land tenure
• landowner notifications
• general rights and conditions of a granted exploration licence
• when an environment (mining) licence is required.

Guide to mineral exploration in the Northern Territory PDF (1.6 MB)
Guide to mineral exploration in the Northern Territory DOCX (2.0 MB)

The guide complements the code of conduct for mineral explorers.