Ackroyd, Peter2024-10-132024-10-131987-10https://hdl.handle.net/10182/17726Mining legislation establishes rights to minerals and so institutes a system of rewards and penalties for mining development; a system which is an important determinant on whether minerals are to be mined and how they are to be mined. Minerals are but one element of a natural resource complex comprising land, water, flora and fauna, and the structures the land supports; a resource complex upon which diverse and competing values are placed. The fact that minerals are located within a resource complex makes it difficult to specify a system of rights to minerals which allows competing interests of miners, landowners, conservationists, and recreationists to be considered in an efficient and just manner. The various acts dealing with mining legislation in New Zealand reserve most mineral resources to the Crown which also allocates rights to minerals and establishes controls on mining activity. Reservation to the Crown of rights to minerals and rights of access is an important provision severing the rights to minerals from the bundle of rights which comprise private property. The consequences of this severance of rights dominates present institutional arrangements for allocating and managing mineral resources in New Zealand. The purpose of this paper is to examine the rationale for the separation of rights to minerals from the rights to land.13 pages© Centre for Resource Management