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HRS §182-6

Getting a permit to explore for geothermal or minerals on state land

This section explains how to get a permit to explore for geothermal or mineral resources on state or reserved land. You must apply to the board, follow its rules, and only remove small samples for testing. When the permit ends, you must give all exploration data to the board, which keeps it confidential unless you later apply for a mining lease.

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The statute, as written — Exploration

Any person wishing to conduct geothermal or mineral exploration on state lands or reserved lands shall apply to the board, which shall issue exploration permits upon terms and conditions as it shall by rule prescribe. During and as a result of the exploration, no minerals of types and quantity beyond that reasonably required for testing and analysis shall be extracted and removed from the state lands or reserved lands. Upon termination of the exploration permit, all exploration data, including but not limited to the drill logs and the results of the assays resulting from the exploration, shall be turned over to the board and kept confidential by the board. If the person does not make application for a mining lease of the lands within a period of six months from the date the information is turned over to the board, the board in its discretion need not keep the information confidential. This section shall be construed as authorizing the board to issue an exploration permit for geothermal resources as well as minerals.
Read the official text at capitol.hawaii.gov ↗as published Jan 6, 2026our copy taken Aug 20, 2026

LawTrove is not legal advice. The summary above is a computer-generated restatement — the authoritative text is the official version linked above.