Geology & Mines Unit

Manages Vanuatu’s mineral, quarry, petroleum and geothermal resources.

About the Unit

The unit regulates resource extraction so that it contributes to the economy without degrading land, rivers or coastal areas. It enforces the Mining Act, Quarry Act, Petroleum Act and Geothermal Act, monitors quarry operations in provinces and municipalities, and conducts geotechnical testing of quarry sites. Where operators fall short of their obligations, the unit is the authority that acts.

It also carries out geoscience research through its laboratory, monitors coastlines, river channels and sediment discharge at sites across Efate, Santo, Tanna and the northern islands, and maintains national quarry and mineral databases. The unit trains area administrators and quarry foremen, and works with communities on the sustainable management of aggregate resources.

What we do

Regulate and enforce mining, quarrying, petroleum and geothermal activity
Monitor quarry operations in provinces and municipalities
Conduct geoscience research and geotechnical testing
Monitor coastal, river channel and sediment conditions
Maintain national quarry and mineral resource data
Train area administrators and quarry foremen, and support community awareness

Our mission

To regulate and promote the petroleum, geothermal and mineral resources of Vanuatu to reach a level that contributes sustainably to the economy and social wellbeing for the present and future generations, while minimising environmental impacts of these activities.

Our vision

A sustainable petroleum, geothermal and mineral resource sector.

Objectives

Enhancement of institutional capacity

Enhancement of the visibility and confidence in public actions to attract investments through transparent, stable and efficiently enforced legislative and regulatory frameworks, as well as updated and accessible geological statistics
Improvement of the capacity of the public institutions to fulfil key regulatory, promotional and monitoring roles, and for the formulation, management and implementation of geological resource strategies, plans and programs
Improvement of capacity for monitoring and evaluation for an equitable and performing development

Development of geo-scientific information systems and evaluation of resource potentials

Support to the discovery and preliminary evaluation of mineral, geothermal and petroleum resources
Improvement of accessibility and visibility of Vanuatu’s mineral, geothermal and petroleum potential

Legislation

Acts

Mining Act
Quarry Act
Petroleum Act
Geothermal Act

Geohazards

Hazard monitoring (seismology, volcanic alert levels and tsunami warnings) is led by the Geohazards Division of the Vanuatu Meteorology & Geo-Hazards Department.