Wellington, Aug 28 NZPA - Greenpeace wants the mining industry to identify which areas of conservation land it is interested in mining.

The call follows an announcement by Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee that the Government is planning a stocktake of valuable minerals in Conservation land protected under Schedule Four of the Crown Minerals Act.

The estimated value of untapped minerals in New Zealand has been put at about $140 billion and around 70 percent of that involves conservation land.

"We certainly have no intention of digging up the Crown's conservation estate. This is a stocktake, which is perfectly reasonable," Mr Brownlee told reporters yesterday.

Greenpeace spokesman Geoff Keey said the mining industry had expressed interest in parts of the Coromandel and Kahurangi, Paparoa and Mt Aspiring national parks in the past.

He said the land was covered by Schedule Four for a reason, not so it could be mined, he told Radio New Zealand.

Minerals Industry Association chief executive Doug Gordon said the Government's approach would boost the industry.

The Royal Forest & Bird Protection Society of New Zealand said the mining industry already had extensive powers to explore land.

Labour MP David Parker said coal and lignite mines were "enormous".

"Allowing increased mining in the DOC (Department of Conservation) estate, or allowing it at all in National Parks, is lunacy."