Individual prospector’s card

What it allows

To prospect, by artisanal methods and inside the prefecture named, for the substances the card names. It confers no right over any land, is not a mining title, and does not allow a working to be opened.

Who may apply

Any Guinean individual of full age. For gold and diamond, membership of an approved mining cooperative is required. Artisanal mining is forbidden to shareholders and employees of mining companies, buying counters and gold buying offices (article 53).

An individual

At a glance

What it costs

• Filing feeGNF 200,000

  Payable when you file · Arrêté conjoint du Ministre chargé des Mines et du Ministre chargé des Finances fixant les droits fixes et redevances du secteur minier

• Issue feeGNF 100,000

  Payable when it is issued · Arrêté conjoint du Ministre chargé des Mines et du Ministre chargé des Finances fixant les droits fixes et redevances du secteur minier

Total, filing and issueGNF 300,000

What to bring

Some of these depend on your answers; the list narrows as you fill the form in.

• Receipt for the filing fee

  To be attached only where the charge was settled before the file was sent. It must be legible and carry the number and the date given on the form.

  Must be less than 3 months old

  Arrêté conjoint du Ministre chargé des Mines et du Ministre chargé des Finances fixant les droits fixes et redevances du secteur minier

• Identity document

  Already held — you will not be asked for it

  Code minier, art. 43 (carte individuelle de prospecteur)

• Passport photograph

  Must be less than 12 months old

  Code minier, art. 43 (carte individuelle de prospecteur)

• Proof of residence

  Must be less than 3 months old

  Code minier, art. 43 (carte individuelle de prospecteur)

• Cooperative’s certificate

  Less than a year old and signed by the cooperative’s chair.

  Required if Substance mined is one of Gold or Diamond

  Must be less than 12 months old

  Code minier, art. 51 à 64 (autorisation d’exploitation artisanale)

• Naturalisation decree

  Required if Nationality is Guinean by naturalisation

  Code minier, art. 43 (carte individuelle de prospecteur)

• Criminal record extract

  Required if Have you held an individual prospector’s card before? is no

  Must be less than 3 months old

  Code minier, art. 43 (carte individuelle de prospecteur)

Before you start

• A valid Guinean identity document
• The prefecture inside which you intend to prospect
• A recent passport photograph
• Proof of residence less than three months old
• For gold and diamond: your cooperative’s certificate

How it is handled

1. Completeness check

   5 days

2. Assessment

   20 days

3. Decision

   5 days

4. Signature

   5 days

5. Notification

   2 days

If the answer is no

A refusal may be challenged before the National Director of Mines within two months, then before the Minister for Mines, and finally before the competent administrative court.

The texts this rests on

• Code minier, art. 43 (carte individuelle de prospecteur)
• Code minier, art. 51 à 64 (autorisation d’exploitation artisanale)
• Code minier, art. 53 (personnes autorisées à l’exploitation artisanale)

Versions of this procedure

• Version 1 · 2026-01-01In force