Mines and Minerals (Declaration of Minerals) Notice, 2025
Bat guano and clay are now declared minerals where they occur in quantities worth mining or quarrying — bringing their extraction under the Mines and Minerals Act licensing regime.
The Minister of Mines has replaced the First Schedule to the Mines and Minerals (Declaration of Minerals) Notice, 1990 with a new schedule declaring bat guano and clay to be minerals, where they occur in quantities sufficiently great to warrant extraction by mining or quarrying.
Declaring a substance a mineral under section 5(3) of the Mines and Minerals Act brings its extraction within that Act — so working a clay deposit or harvesting guano at that scale requires the mining title, permits and obligations the Act imposes, rather than being treated as ordinary land use.
The practical reach is wide: brickmakers, potters and ceramic producers working clay pits, and anyone harvesting bat guano as fertiliser at commercial scale, now fall under the mining regime. The notice does not set a threshold tonnage, leaving "sufficiently great to warrant extraction by mining or quarrying" as the test.
What changed
- Bat guano and clay are declared minerals where they occur in quantities warranting mining or quarrying
- The First Schedule to the 1990 declaration notice is repealed and replaced
- Extraction at that scale falls under the Mines and Minerals Act licensing regime
Who this affects
- Brick makers and potters extracting clay
- Guano harvesters and organic fertiliser suppliers
- Rural district councils levying on quarrying
- Mining commissioners and the Ministry of Mines
Plain-language summary — not legal advice. Always read the full instrument.