Minerals Titles

Exploration and mining in the Northern Territory is subject to the Mining Act, which is administered by the Titles Division of the Department of Regional Development, Primary Industry, Fisheries and Resources.

Minerals and extractive minerals (sand, gravel, rocks and soil) may only be removed by miners (holders of Miner's Rights) who are authorised to do so under the Mining Act by the grant of a title. The Titles Division provides client focussed services for the grant and maintenance of such titles. In addition to administering the Mining Act, the Division manages the procedures associated with the Commonwealth Aboriginal Land Rights (NT) Act and the Native Title Act.

The Division maintains a tenure register and associated map reference data for all exploration and mining tenure in the Northern Territory (Titles Management System). It provides Internet access for clients to current publicly available spatial (geographical location), textual (ownership/transactions) and cadastral (land ownership) data associated with exploration and mining tenure through the Titles Information System. Registration for TIS is free and available to anyone by faxing the completed Registration Form to the Division on (08) 8981 7106.

Registered users are provided with a password and can create customised maps online. These maps may be printed on the users' own printers or inserted into digital documents. By searching underlying land tenure on the cadastral layer, registered users can obtain details of land status and landholders' contact details or download spatial data files of current titles for the use in their Geographical Information Systems.

General information is available from the Department's Titles Information page, or comprehensive explanatory notes may be obtained from our Forms and Guidelines page.