A holder of a Mining Operation Title must enter into a Local Development Agreement (LDA) with the Local Community residing on or in the immediate vicinity of its Mining Operation Title. The terms for drafting these agreements are set out in a joint order of the Minister in charge of Mines and the Minister in charge of Decentralization.
The purpose of the Local Development Agreement is to establish conditions that are conducive to the efficient and transparent management of the Contribution to Local Development paid by the holder of the Mining Operation Permit, and to strengthen the capacities of the Local Community in the planning and implementation of the community development program.
The Local Development Agreement must include, among other things, provisions for training the Local Community and, more generally, Guineans, environmental protection and health measures for the Local Community, and processes for the development of social projects. Principles of transparency and consultation will be applied to the management of the Local Economic Development Fund and to any Local Development Agreement which will be published and made available to the Local Community.
The amount of the Contribution to Local Development, the financial contribution of the holder of a Mining Operation Title to the development of the Local Community, is fixed at zero point five percent (0.5%) of the turnover of the company made on a Mining Title of a zone for category 1 mine substances and one percent (1%) for other mine substances.
A Local Development Fund (LDF) is created which will be financed by this Contribution to Local Development from the holder of the Mining Title from the Date of First Commercial Production. The terms for using this Contribution to Local Development and the rules for the operation and management of the Local Development Fund are set out by decree of the President of the Republic.