For decades, the Coromandel Peninsula has been known for its beaches, forests — and the gold that still lies beneath its hills.
But a quiet legal grey area is once again sparking fierce debate: who actually owns the gold under Coromandel — and what happens if someone tries to extract it?
“It’s been hanging over us for generations,” says Te Ao, whose whānau has lived near Whangamatā for over 100 years.
“The land is ours. But when it comes to what’s beneath, that’s where things get murky.”
A legacy of old laws
New Zealand law states that all gold, silver, uranium and petroleum belong to the Crown — regardless of who owns the land above.
This clause, dating back to the Crown Minerals Act 1991, means that even private or iwi-owned land does not guarantee control over the minerals beneath it.
But in Coromandel — where many areas are under Treaty claim, customary title, or held in ecological trusts — the issue is far from simple.
“The gold is under our whenua, our rivers, our sacred sites,” says Te Ao.
“Yet we have no legal say if someone wants to dig it up. That’s not right.”
Tensions rise again
The debate has flared up in 2024 after new prospecting interest was registered in the Hauraki area, according to internal council briefings.
Though no new mining permits have been granted, locals are wary, especially given the history.
In the 1980s and early 2000s, multiple protests blocked foreign-owned mining companies from drilling.
Coromandel’s “no-mining” legacy became part of its environmental identity. But the gold — and the value of it — never went away.
“Every few years, someone tries again,” says a retired conservation officer.
“Because the truth is, there’s still a lot of gold down there.”
Billions underground?
Estimates vary, but geologists believe the southern Coromandel still holds billions of dollars in untapped gold reserves.
Much of it lies under protected land, or areas of cultural significance, which complicates things further.
The government has not made any recent moves to change the Crown Minerals Act, but Māori legal scholars argue that future Treaty settlements may need to include explicit mineral rights — or at least a right of veto.
“The debate is no longer just environmental,” says a land use planner in Thames.
“It’s cultural, legal, and economic. And it’s not going away.”
So who owns the gold?
Legally, still the Crown.
Practically? That’s where the fight lies — between communities, hapū, conservationists, and corporate interest.
As gold prices climb, and technology makes even small deposits viable, the pressure on Coromandel’s hills is likely to return.
And once again, locals may be forced to decide: what matters more — what’s buried, or who gets to protect it?
It remains difficult to change the Treaty Waitangi to facilitate copious generations of partial-blooded Maori who have benefitted, indeed anthropologically so, to now give them below-ground benefits; not ignoring that many Iwi trusts today are managing restitutions predicated on oral-here say history; a history spanning nearly 200 years! No nation in the world would allow restitutions or changes made of original Treaties (treaties are NOT constitutionalise, viz. they cannot be held as statutory rights. Increased Maori education can neither undo nor re-write history. Millions of humans of the past have been allegedly “wronged”. Millions more have died in wars. Nations have been consumed. No re rectifications can afford to be given in history. We just move on — without our hands out!
Fred this is a highly inaccurate characterisation of the situation around resources and Te Tiriti / and by the way tangata whenua history 2000 years not 200.
Re gold, what is not mentioned is the toxic legacy we are still dealing with from past mining and the risk ftom current gold mine waste toxic dumps at Waihi / we will continue to protest as the profits go offshore.
There was some acknowledgment in one of the recent settlements with Hauraki Iwi and the Crown that gold and silver ownership rights would be an ongoing discussion, However the Fast Track law attacks Iwi and community rights to take miners to
Court . Very unfair and dangerous. Thanks for this article highlighting our daily struggle to protect the land – mining e waste is a better solution!
Catherine ( Cotomandel Watchdog of Hauraki)
Thats one way to put it mate. But as the people who were murdered and robbed they have the right to claim the treaty is violated and therefore null and void. Without the mandate of the maori people the government of new zealand would be then have no right to exist. Whats going to protect you from guerilla warfare? Civil war? Do you really think new zealand has the capacity to protect its citizens if the maori race decided the government and the crown is no longer welcome here?
It’s time for new Zealand to leave the crown. And stop being controlled by the one’s who just stole the land off the people that were already here. So why are we under the control of the crown doesn’t make sense
Who ever digs it up owns it back in the 1800 gold was owned by the one who found is but now the government have to have there cut so now it’s big money just to go looking.in Aussie you can get a permit from the government to prospect for gold on crown land for $25
Sorry Kerry, that’s just not true, anyone could dig up gold, but they required either a prospecting license or a miners right to be able to find and extract gold. This was issued by the government’s representative on payment of a fee (5 quid from memory)
It’s insane. We dig up the gold, destroying all nature. To melt it into ingots and put into under ground vaults.
We can’t eat gold.
There is enough gold in bank vaults already for generations.
Gold madness is certainly crazy !
It’s time to hand control back to regions and communities. If we extract resources from an area, the local people must benefit.
New Zealand shouldn’t shy away from mining if it’s done responsibly. We can’t demand all the modern tech (built with materials like gold) while expecting the impacts to fall only on others. Let’s lead by example: protect topsoil, restore land, and mine with care. Not everyone can afford to do it right, but we can.