New Zealand
New Zealand produced industrial minerals and metals
Pictured: silver-bismuth ore
Statistics and information on the mining industry in New Zealand.
Overview
In 2024, New Zealand was not a globally significant producer of mineral commodities. Production of metals and industrial minerals and manufactured articles thereof contributed 2.1% to New Zealand’s gross domestic product. Mineral and metal commodities produced in New Zealand included aluminum, gold, iron sand, perlite, silver, and vanadium. The legislative framework for the mineral sector in New Zealand is provided by the Crown Minerals Act 1991. The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment oversees the minerals sector and provides regulation and permitting. Most mineral commodities were produced by domestic and foreign private companies.
2024 Report
Full data release with tables here.
In 2024, New Zealand was not a globally significant producer of mineral commodities. Production of metals and industrial minerals and manufactured articles thereof contributed 2.1% to New Zealand’s gross domestic product. Mineral commodities produced in New Zealand included aluminum, gold, iron sand, perlite, silver, and vanadium. The legislative framework for the mineral sector in New Zealand is provided by the Crown Minerals Act 1991. The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment oversees the minerals sector and provides regulation and permitting. Most mineral commodities were produced by domestic and foreign private companies (New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals, 2023; Statistics New Zealand, 2025).
Data on mineral production are in the Production table (formerly table 1). The Facilities table is a list of major mineral industry facilities. More-extensive coverage of government policies and programs can be found in previous editions of this chapter in the U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook, volume III, Area Reports—International—Asia and the Pacific, which are available at https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/asia-…;
Production table
(Metric tons, gross weight, unless otherwise specified)
| Commodity | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aluminum, primary, metal | 333,000 | 333,000 | 336,000 | 334,000 | 290,000 |
| Cement, hydraulic | 950,000e | 1,000,000e | 1,000,000e | 950,000e | 850,000e |
| Gold, mine, Au content (kilograms) | 5,860 | 5,815 | 6,674 | 6,844 | 6,639 |
| Iron ore, mine, iron sand, titaniferous magnetite, Fe content | 2,260,000 | 2,200,000 | 2,280,000 | 1,480,000 | 1,500,000e |
| Kaolin, pottery clay | 51,000e | 51,000e | 51,000e | 51,000e | 51,000e |
| Nitrogen, ammonia, N content | 110,000 | 110,000 | 130,000 | 110,000 | 110,000 |
| Perlite, crude | 17,000e | 18,000e | 18,000e | 18,000e | 18,000e |
| Pig iron | 613,499 | 692,675 | 624,073 | 602,541 | 605,402 |
| Pumice and related materials | 37,034 | 70,000e | 100,767 | 77,781 | 187,412 |
| Raw steel | 586,000 | 646,000 | 569,934 | 554,539 | 566,029 |
| Sand and gravel, construction, unspecified, for building aggregate | 6,054,000 | 8,605,000 | 11,475,000 | 12,503,000 | 14,004,000 |
| Sand and gravel, construction, unspecified, for roads and ballast | 20,297,000 | 15,412,000 | 15,747,000 | 19,259,000 | 16,234,000 |
| Sand and gravel, industrial, quartz and quartz sand, silica sand | 34,000e | 34,000e | 34,000e | 53,073 | 53,000 |
| Sand and gravel, industrial, sand | 1,299,840 | 269,150 | 277,630 | 479,881 | 691,196 |
| Silver, mine, Ag content (kilograms) | 1,393 | 3,055 | 3,922 | 5,554 | 6,208 |
| Stone, crushed, limestone, including marl, for agriculture | 986,870 | 503,140 | 625,830 | 940,364 | 1,147,979 |
| Stone, crushed, limestone, including marl, for cement | 1,220,000e | 1,280,000e | 1,280,000e | 1,320,000e | 1,300,000e |
| Stone, crushed, limestone, including marl, for industrial use | 409,400 | 507,900 | 628,200 | 578,759 | 603,628 |
| Stone, dimension, unspecified | 10,617 | 494,443 | 11,609 | 20,064 | 30,848 |
| Vanadium, vanadium rich slag powder | 12,000e | 12,000e | 12,000e | 12,000e | 12,000e |
| Vanadium, vanadium rich slag powder, V content | 1,000e | 1,000e | 1,000e | 1,000e | 1,000e |
| Zeolites | 100,000e | 0 | 0e | 0 | 0e |
References
- New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals, 2023, Rules and regulations: Wellington, New Zealand, New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals, December 15. (Accessed May 15, 2025, at https://web.archive.org/web/20250402141627/https://www.nzpam.govt.nz/nz….)
Statistics New Zealand, 2025, Gross domestic product—December 2024 quarter—Supplementary tables: Wellington, New Zealand, Statistics New Zealand, March 20. (Accessed January 22, 2026, at https://www.stats.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/Gross-domestic-product/Gross-d….)
Publications
Reports:1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017-18 | 2019 | 2020-21
Tables: 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017-18 | 2019 | 2020-21 | 2022 tables-only release