Who can apply?

• An adult individual (18+)
• A company within the meaning of the companies Act
• A public Corporation
•  A co-operative society registered under the Co-operative Societies Act
• Any other corporate body incorporated in or outside Guyana, including a company established outside Guyana
• Any organization established by Government or by or under written law in Guyana and authorized to carry on mining operations

Procedure

1. Fill out the prescribed 5D Form.
2. Pay of US$l00 application fee.
3. Work Program and Budget for first year activities.
4. Submit of a map on Terra Survey 1:50,000 sheet.
5. Cartographic description of area.
6. Proof of Financial and Technical capability.

After satisfactory submission of the required documents the application is processed and, if recommended will be sent to the official gazette for publication. If there are no objections to the grant then ministerial approval is sought. When this is obtained the licence becomes available on payment of the first year's rental and submission of an acceptable Performance Bond. Rental rates are: US$0.50 acre for first year; US$0.60 for second year and US$1.00 for third year. Performance Bond is equivalent to 10% of the approved budget for the respective year. However since 1998 there has been a 50% rebate on rental rates, which in effect have halved rentals.

The term of the Prospecting Licence is for three years, with two rights of renewal of one year each. The Mining Act 1989 stipulates that three months prior to each anniversary date of licence, a Work Program and Budget for the following year must be presented for approval for the work to be undertaken during the following year.

The Obligations of the licensee include quarterly technical reports on its activities and an audited financial statement to be submitted by June 30 of the following year for the previous year's expenditure. Should the licensee relinquish part or all of the Prospecting Licence area then he is required to submit an evaluation report on the work undertaken therein. Prospecting Licence properties are subject to ad hoc monitoring visits by technical staff of the GGMC. It is the applicant's ONUS to select the area of interest, this will be based, principally, on availability and good geological prospectivity.

At any time during the Prospecting Licence, and for any part or all of the Prospecting Licence area, the licensee may apply for a Mining Licence. This application will consist of a Positive Feasibility Study, Mine Plan, an Environmental Impact Statement and an Environmental Management Plan. Rental for a Mining Licence is currently fixed at US$5.00 per acre per year and the licence is usually granted for twenty years or the life of the deposit, whichever is shorter; renewals are possible.