Clifford Chance

Selected key issues raised by the 2013 amendments to Guinea's Mining Code

23 September 2013

As brought to your attention in our Client Briefing - Guinea's new Mining Code: Significant changes in a key mining jurisdiction dated September 2011, the National Transitional Council (Conseil National de Transition) (the "CNT")1 of the Republic of Guinea ("Guinea") unanimously adopted a new mining code on 9 September 2011 (the "2011 Mining Code"), which replaced the 1995 mining code.

The 2011 Mining Code very quickly came under close scrutiny and criticism from Guinean civil society, certain major Guinean political parties, international financial institutions, mining operators and other stakeholders, particularly with respect to its tax, customs and finance provisions.

As a result, the CNT and the government have produced a series of amendments to the 2011 Mining Code which were adopted on 8 April 2013 (the "Amendments") (together, the 2011 Mining Code and the Amendments the "New Mining Code").

The New Mining Code has now entered into effect and acquired force of law through its promulgation by the presidential decree of 17 April 2013 (the "Presidential Decree").

This marks a further important step in Guinea's ongoing mining reform agenda. As the intention of Guinea is to apply and reflect the contents of the New Mining Code in all current and future mining conventions, existing and future investors as well financiers in the Guinean mining sector need to consider the impact of the Amendments and be prepared to address the issues they raise.

This note considers a number of key issues raised by the Amendments.

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