The Northern Territory mines minister has been booed down by anti-fracking protesters calling on the government to ban the controversial mining practice.

More than 200 pastoralists, farmers, and Aboriginal traditional owners marched on parliament in Darwin on Tuesday, about two dozen on horseback.

Mines and Energy Minister David Tollner faced the angry crowd, who jeered loudly when he said the government was "absolutely committed to protecting the environment".

"Everything in the NT that's good and worthwhile comes from our environment, whether it's mining, whether it's agriculture, whether it's tourism, our natural environment provides a lot of that, and as a government we're absolutely committed to not killing the goose that lays the golden egg," he said.

"But what about the people?" one protester demanded.

Mr Tollner said the government had "hit the go-slow" button on hydraulic fracturing.

But Wagait Shire Council president Peter Clee was concerned about the enormous quantities of water required.

Each well penetration will "waste" about 15 million litres of clean water, which would be "contaminated by a cocktail of chemicals", he said.

"As a community dependent on clean, drinkable bore water for our survival ... we call on the NT government to guarantee our water security and the protection of the bore sites and aquifers we depend on in perpetuity," he said.

In the Adelaide River area 96.8 per cent of residents have voted against fracking on their land, while 98 per cent of Batchelor residents had done the same, said Lauren Mellor, spokeswoman for the Environment Centre NT.

"You can be sure that the damage (caused by fracking) will far outlast the career of anyone in parliament here today," she said.

Farmer Daniel Tapp told Mr Tollner that water was the world's most crucial asset, "liquid gold".

"This is a direct threat to our water, our lives, our future, our food," he said, as he asked Mr Tollner to ban the practice.

"There's enough evidence out in the world everywhere in the world fracking has been the water and environment is destroyed, and we don't want that here in the Territory, we want a clean, green Australia."

Eddie Mason, an Aboriginal traditional owner from Maningrida, said his community did not want their land poisoned by fracking.

"The government (thinks) it's safe but it's not safe... It's leaking everywhere.

"We won't have it in our country, we don't want it," he told AAP.

And he had stern words of warning for Chief Minister Adam Giles if he didn't heed the protesters.

"This is just the first wave, tsunami is coming after this; the whole country, they coming," he said.

"If he says no, a big wave will come and flood him out."