Northern Territory (NT): minimum expenditure for exploration licences
The Northern Territory has no fixed per-block minimum in its legislation. Each exploration licence carries an expenditure condition: the spend specified in the licence, based on the technical work program, which the holder proposes year by year in its expenditure report. The rules changed substantially on 5 June 2026.
Checked against the regulator's guidance and the legislation on 25 September 2026. General information, not legal advice. Rules and fees change, and your licence conditions take priority, so confirm with the regulator before relying on a figure.
- Titles
- Exploration licence (EL) and exploration licence in retention (ELR)
- Regulator
- Department of Mining and Energy, Northern Territory Government
- Legislation
- Mineral Titles Act 2010 and Mineral Titles Regulations 2011, as amended from 5 June 2026
How the minimum is calculated
- The holder must work substantially in line with the technical work program and the expenditure requirements specified in the licence. The Regulations call this the expenditure condition.
- Your application includes a detailed program for years 1–2 and, since June 2026, a summary for years 3–6. Each year's expenditure report then sets out the proposed spend for the next year.
- The department publishes benchmark minimums and the rules on admissible spend in its Guideline 6, Minimum and Admissible Expenditure. Check it for current figures.
- The operational year runs for 12 months from the date of grant.
Reporting and deadlines
| Report | Due | Lodged via |
|---|---|---|
| Expenditure report (form AF17), including proposed spend for the next year | Within 60 days after the end of each operational year under the Regulations as amended in 2026. Some department guidance still says 30 days, so lodging within 30 days is the safe choice until it's updated. | Department of Mining and Energy |
| Annual technical report, with enough detail to support the claimed spend | Within 60 days after the end of each operational year | Department of Mining and Energy |
| Technical work program for the next year | Within 60 days after the end of each operational year | Department of Mining and Energy |
| Final or partial relinquishment report | Within 60 days after the licence, or the part given up, stops being in force | Department of Mining and Energy |
What counts as expenditure
- Technical work under the approved work program
- In year 1, earlier spend on airborne surveys over the area
- The department limits admissible spend to costs that directly generate new information reported to it. See Guideline 6 for the detailed list.
Exemptions and variations
- The Minister can amend, suspend or remove a licence condition. Since June 2026, a change to an expenditure condition applies only to the current reporting period, and your application must be made before the end of the 6th month of that period.
- Older department guidance says to lodge the variation with the expenditure report showing the underspend. Under the amended Act that is too late, so apply within the first 6 months.
What happens if you fall short
- The Minister can cancel all or part of a licence for breaching a condition, for 2 years without genuine activity, or for lacking the finances to carry out the work program.
- An underspend also costs blocks. For each non-compliant year, blocks lost = (proposed spend − actual spend) × 0.5 ÷ (proposed spend ÷ number of blocks), rounded.
- Late reports attract a fee of 100 revenue units per week or part-week, for up to 60 days.
- In an exploration project area, an underspend can lead to action against every licence in the area.
Term, renewal and relinquishment
- An EL covers 1–250 blocks in up to 3 areas. The first term is up to 6 years. The first renewal is up to 6 years; later renewals are up to 2 years each.
- Each renewal keeps at most 50% of the existing blocks. The Minister may waive, lessen or defer the reduction; once the licence has been held 12 years, that needs exceptional circumstances.
Recent changes
- The Mineral Titles Legislation Amendment Act 2026 took effect on 5 June 2026. It removed the old rule requiring a 50% area cut every 2 years in the first term, lengthened the first renewal from 2 to 6 years, cut the minimum size to 1 block, set the 6-month deadline for varying expenditure conditions, and rewrote the block-loss formula.
- Applications lodged before 5 June 2026 keep the old process and deadlines.
- Department web pages may still describe the pre-June 2026 rules.
Sources
Tracking this across several tenements
Tenement Track keeps each tenement's commitment, spend to date and anniversary date in one register, so a shortfall shows up while there's still time to act on it.