Although Paparoa National Park is protected from mining by Schedule 4 of the Crown Minerals Act, there have been proposals to allow some mining within the park's borders. On 22 March 2010, the Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee and Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson released a discussion paper including a proposal to remove 7,058 hectares of land from Schedule Four of the Crown Minerals Act 1991, including the Inangahua sector of Paparoa National Park. The area of the Inangahua sector included in this proposal was 3,315 hectares, or 8 per cent of the park. The proposed change would remove the prohibition on mining for the area concerned.