Land Management | Guyana Geology and Mines Commission

About

To provide an efficient & transparent service for licensing & permitting mineral property holders, administering licenses & permits, & providing map-based information, giving active consideration to customer satisfaction & feedback

The Land Management Division falls under the Commissioner’s office and consists of the following units:

Cartographic /GIS
Mineral Property Administration

The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) is the statutory body that processes all applications for mineral properties in Guyana. This page provides an overview of the application procedure.

The document : 'Mining Act 1989' (Guyana Act No. 20 of 1989) defines the procedures for making such applications. This document is available at the GGMC's library.

Mission Statement

To facilitate growth and diversification in mining, by providing accurate and timely information and maps, and efficiently licensing, permitting and administering mineral properties, supported by it application by highly skilled staff

Core Values

Timeliness
Integrity
Reliability
Satisfaction
Achievement

ISO Land Management Division.pdf687.05 KB

Functions

Acceptance, processing and granting of permits and licences in the medium and large scale mineral sector i.e Prospecting and Mining Permits, Prospecting Licence, Mining Licence, Quarry Licence and Permission for Geological and Geophysical Surveys (on behalf of the Minister)
Processing and endorsement of all applications for the remission of taxes on the purchase or importation of items for use in the mining and exploration sector by its operatives.
Preparation of official notices in the Official Gazettes such as Grants, Rescissions, Orders and Regulations pertaining to Medium and Large Scale permitting and licensing.
Maintenance of an up to date mineral licence database.
Cartography services.
Maintenance of the Commission’s GIS in conjunction with the IT Department.
Administration of auctions and lotteries.

Application for Mineral Properties in Guyana

The Mining Act, 1989 allows for four scales of operation:

A Small Scale Claim has dimensions of 1500 ft x 800 ft whilst a river claim consists of one mile of a navigable river.
Medium Scale Prospecting and Mining Permits. These cover between 150 and 1200 acres each.
Prospecting Licences for areas between 500 and 12,800 acres.
Permission for Geological and Geophysical Surveys for reconnaissance surveys over large acreages with the objective of applying for Prospecting Licences over favorable ground selected on the basis of results obtained from the reconnaissance aerial and field surveys.

Small and medium scale property titles (items 1 and 2 above) are restricted to Guyanese, however, foreigners have been entering into joint-venture arrangements whereby the two parties jointly develop the property. This is strictly by private contract. In 2003 there were 2513 Medium Scale Prospecting Permits and 18 Prospecting Licences in existence.

Foreign companies may apply for Prospecting Licences and Permission for reconnaissance surveys.

Application for Reconnaissance Survey

Section 97 of the Mining Act empowers the minister to grant Permission for Geophysical and Geological Survey. Basically application for a permission is based on some new or special concepts that need to be tested on a Reconnaissance level. The objectives can be based on geological hypotheses, the need to obtain regionalised information, etc.

There is no fixed format for these Permissions, however, an application will have to contain some fundamental elements such as an elaboration of the geological objectives and program, the area(s) of interest, proposed fees and scheduling. Technical and financial capability of the applicant will also be considered.

Application for Prospecting Licence

Click here for more details.

Application for Mining Licence