Exploration Licence

Service documentation · Republic of Zambia · GSB e-Services

Owner	Cadastre Department
Service key	MMMD/exploration-licence
Version	service v1, platform 7e6d0b65
Date	2026-10-22

Generated automatically by the service's end-to-end test run. Every screenshot shows synthetic test data on a local test installation, never real personal data.

This document describes the Exploration Licence service of Cadastre Department as the platform runs it today. It is generated by the service's end-to-end test: every step below was performed by the test, and every screenshot was taken during that run with synthetic data. Regenerate it with npm run docs:services in the e2e suite; do not edit it by hand.

1. Service summary

Item	Detail
Service	Exploration Licence
Owner (MDA)	Cadastre Department (MMMD)
Purpose	An exploration licence confers on the holder exclusive rights to carry on exploration in the exploration area for the minerals specified in the licence and to do all such other acts and things as are necessary for, or incidental to, the carrying on of those operations.
Who can apply	Not set in the service configuration.
How to apply	Online on the national e-Services portal, signed in with ZamPass; pay with ZamPay.
Fees	Small Scale Exploration Licence Application Fee: ZMW 1200.00 Large Scale Exploration Licence Application Fee: ZMW 4000.00 Area charge per [@year] (Small Scale Exploration Licence Year 1-4): ZMW 0.80 Area charge per year (Small Scale Year 5-7): ZMW 1.50 Area charge per year (Large Scale Year 1-4): ZMW 1.60 Area charge per year (Large Scale Year 5-7): ZMW 4.80 Area charge per year (Large Scale Year 8-10): ZMW 6.40
Turnaround	Sixty (60) Days of Receiving the Application
Validity of the output	4 years
Required documents	None
Output documents	Exploration Right Licence GS-1 Application for a Government Service GS-2 Notice of Government Action

2. Application process, step by step

The process as configured in the back office:

Step	Role	Task	Type
1	Applicant	Apply	form
2	Case Officer	Review	review
3	Case Officer	Generate Payment	generate-payment
4	Applicant	Payment	payment
5	Case Officer	Verify Payment	verify-payment
6	Case Officer	Technical review	mining-technical-review
7	Supervisor	Consent	mining-consent
8	Supervisor	Review	review
9	Executive	Decision	decision
10	System	Generate Document	generate-document
11	System	Notify Client	notify

Who takes part in this journey: Citizen, Case Officer, Executive, Supervisor, Licensing committee (chair: Executive), Anyone (public).

Step 1. Find the service and read its page

Citizen · National e-Services portal

The citizen finds "Exploration Licence" in the national directory and opens its page: who provides it, the fees (the application fee and the yearly area charges per hectare), how long it takes and what to have ready.

Step 2. Start the application

Citizen · National e-Services portal

The application starts with who is applying (the citizen, or on behalf of a company or co-operative). The service form that follows asks for the scale, the minerals, where the area is and who will hold the licence, then the licence area: drawn on the map, uploaded (KML, GeoJSON, a zipped shapefile) or typed as the corners in latitude / longitude or UTM. The applicant's eligibility questions of the legacy form follow.

Step 3. An area over another right is refused

Citizen · National e-Services portal (sent through the API the portal uses in the test run: no screenshot)

The first area the citizen gave overlaps exploration licence EL-2025-E2E01, already in force: the application is refused at once with "The area overlaps a right already granted or applied for: EL-2025-E2E01. Reduce the area so it does not overlap." (first come, first served). Nothing is recorded.

Step 4. Send the application

Citizen · National e-Services portal (sent through the API the portal uses in the test run: no screenshot)

The area beside it is accepted: the cadastre keeps the corners exactly as given (UTM zone 35S, EPSG:32735), works out the WGS 84 outline for maps, measures 400 ha (120.46 cadastre units) in metres and holds the area for this application. The application gets reference MC-2026-00001.

Step 5. Take the application on

Case Officer · Back office (done through its case API in the test run: no screenshot)

The Case Officer takes the new application on (assigned to them). The case moves from "Submitted" to "CO Review".

Step 6. Check the application, its documents and the applicant's eligibility

Case Officer · Back office (done through its case API in the test run: no screenshot)

The Case Officer completes "Check the application, its documents and the applicant's eligibility". The case moves from "CO Review" to "CO Generate Payment".

Step 7. Set the application fee from the service fee schedule

Case Officer · Back office (done through its case API in the test run: no screenshot)

The officer sets the application fee from the service's fee schedule, the line for the licence's scale: Large Scale Exploration Licence Application Fee, ZMW 4,000.00. The applicant is invoiced.

Step 8. Pay the application fee

Citizen · National e-Services portal

The application waits for the application fee in My Workplace, with a Pay button (ZamPay: mobile money or bank card).

Step 9. Verify Payment

Case Officer · Back office (done through its case API in the test run: no screenshot)

The Case Officer completes "Verify Payment". The case moves from "CO Verify Payment" to "CO Review".

Step 10. The cadastre check

Case Officer · Back office

On the case's "Mineral rights" tab the officer runs the cadastre check on today's register: the area overlaps no other mineral right, is within the area limit of an exploration licence, and half of it (200 ha) lies in a forest reserve - a restricted area published on the reference map layers - so the consent of the authority responsible is needed. The tab also shows the first year's area charge the system works out (400 ha x the approved rate).

Step 11. Record the technical recommendation

Case Officer · Back office

The officer records the recommendation (grant) with its reasons. A grant cannot be recommended while the check finds an overlap; the officer who recommends may not approve the application.

Step 12. Cadastre check of the area and technical recommendation

Case Officer · Back office (done through its case API in the test run: no screenshot)

The Case Officer completes "Cadastre check of the area and technical recommendation". The case moves from "CO Review" to "SV Review".

Step 13. Record the consent for the restricted area

Executive · Back office (done through its case API in the test run: no screenshot)

The Executive records the decision of the authority responsible for the forest reserve, as received (granted, with its letter's reference and conditions). The consent step cannot be left - and the licence cannot be granted - until it is recorded.

Step 14. Consent where the area touches a restricted area

Supervisor · Back office (done through its case API in the test run: no screenshot)

The Supervisor completes "Consent where the area touches a restricted area". The case moves from "SV Review" to "SV Review".

Step 15. Review and send for signature

Supervisor · Back office (done through its case API in the test run: no screenshot)

The Supervisor completes "Review and send for signature". The case moves from "SV Review" to "EX Decision".

Step 16. The licensing committee decides

Licensing committee (chair: Executive) · Back office (done through its case API in the test run: no screenshot)

The chair puts the application on the agenda of a meeting of the licensing committee (MRLCE/2026/1 in this run), records who attended (the quorum is checked) and the resolution "approve" with its reasons, and closes the meeting. Closing it decides the application; deciding it by hand is refused. On approval the area is checked once more against the register, under one lock, so two overlapping applications can never both be granted.

Step 17. The mineral rights register

Supervisor · Back office

Ministry functions -> Mining cadastre -> Mineral rights register: every licence of the ministry with its kind, holder, district, area, status and term; filters by number, name or holder, kind, status, district and "being processed".

Step 18. The licence page

Supervisor · Back office

The licence: number, kind, minerals, holder and term; its area on the map and its corners exactly as delivered (UTM zone 35S), measured in metres; the area charge account (ZMW 640.00 a year in years 1-4); suspension, revocation or reinstatement proposals (decided by another officer); returns; history.

Step 19. The cadastre map

Supervisor · Back office

Ministry functions -> Mining cadastre -> Cadastre map: every right granted, suspended or applied for as its area, coloured by status, over the core map; other ministries' published layers (forest concessions, protected areas, land parcels) can be shown with it. Other ministries see these areas on their own maps without the holder.

Step 20. The licence in My permits

Citizen · National e-Services portal

The licence is listed in "My permits and licences" with its particulars (number, minerals, area, status, validity) and its area (a generic block: any permit with a geometry can show it), and a download of the sealed PDF.

Step 21. Verify the licence

Anyone (public) · Public verification page

The QR code on the licence opens the public verification page: genuine and current, and whether the electronic seal is valid. No holder details are shown.

3. Payment

Item	In the test run
Application fee	ZMW 4,000.00 (the service's fee schedule: large-scale exploration licence application)
When it is paid	After the officer has checked the application, before the technical review
Invoice number	7900937577325144
Paid through	ZamPay (the ZamPay test double in this run)
Yearly area charges	Billed separately every year once the licence is granted (Mining and Non-Mining Rights Area Charges)

On screen: step 8 (Pay the application fee) in section 2.

4. Output documents

Exploration licence (sealed PDF)

The licence issued when the licensing committee grants the application: the right (number, kind, minerals), its area and the coordinate system its corners are kept in, its term, and the yearly area charges as its conditions; sealed with the platform's electronic seal.

The issued PDF has 2 pages; the image shows the first.

Fields

Field	Value in the test run
Document title	Exploration Right Licence
Permit / licence number	MMMD-EL-2026-00001
Holder	Chanda Mwila
Valid from	2026-10-22
Valid until	2030-10-21
Status	active
Verification code (printed with a QR code)	GBCM-DXY2-LS

Seal

Item	Detail
Seal status	sealed
Signature level	PAdES-B-T
Sealed by	the platform seal (development key in the test run)
Signed at	2026-10-22T04:30:47.726Z
Trusted time-stamp	2026-10-22T04:30:47.675Z (time-stamping authority)
Document fingerprint (SHA-256)	6b6866eabee3fdce...

Verification

Item	Detail
Where	The public verification page of the national portal, <portal>/verify/<verification code>, opened by scanning the QR code on the document.
What it shows	Whether the document is genuine and current, its holder and validity, and whether the electronic seal is valid and who sealed it.
Checking a copy	Anyone can upload a PDF they were given; the page says whether it is exactly the document that was issued. A changed copy is reported as not matching.

On screen: step 17 (The mineral rights register), step 18 (The licence page), step 19 (The cadastre map), step 20 (The licence in My permits), step 21 (Verify the licence) in section 2.

5. Notifications

When	Channel	To	Message	Delivery
Application received	in-app (portal bell)	the applicant	Application MMMD-EL/00001/10-22-26 received - Your application MMMD-EL/00001/10-22-26 for Exploration Licence has been received by Cadastre Department.	shown
Status changed	in-app (portal bell)	the applicant	Update on application MMMD-EL/00001/10-22-26 - MMMD-EL/00001/10-22-26 (Exploration Licence) is now: With the office - being reviewed.	shown
Payment due (invoice raised)	in-app (portal bell)	the applicant	Payment due for application MMMD-EL/00001/10-22-26 - The fee of ZMW 4000.00 for Exploration Licence (MMMD-EL/00001/10-22-26) is now due. Invoice 7900937577325144.	shown
Payment received	in-app (portal bell)	the applicant	Payment received for MMMD-EL/00001/10-22-26 - Your payment of ZMW 4000.00 for MMMD-EL/00001/10-22-26 (Exploration Licence) has been received. Receipt: <ZamPay>/pdf?documentType=receipt&invoiceNumber=7900937577325144	shown
Licence / permit issued	in-app (portal bell)	the applicant	Your Exploration Licence document has been issued - MMMD-EL-2026-00001 has been issued for Exploration Licence and is valid until 22/10/2030.	shown
Invitation to rate the service	in-app (portal bell)	the applicant	How was Exploration Licence? - How was Exploration Licence? Tell us in about a minute.	shown
Decision: approved	in-app (portal bell)	the applicant	Application MMMD-EL/00001/10-22-26 completed - MMMD-EL/00001/10-22-26 (Exploration Licence) is complete. Your documents are ready.	shown
Application received	sms	+260 97* *** 567	Application MMMD-EL/00001/10-22-26 for Exploration Licence has been received. Track it: <portal>/my-workplace	delivered
Application received	email	e2e.c***@example.test	Application MMMD-EL/00001/10-22-26 received	skipped
Status changed	sms	+260 97* *** 567		delivered
Payment due (invoice raised)	email	e2e.c***@example.test	Payment due for application MMMD-EL/00001/10-22-26	skipped
Payment due (invoice raised)	sms	+260 97* *** 567	Fee of ZMW 4000.00 due for MMMD-EL/00001/10-22-26. Invoice 7900937577325144. Pay: <ZamPay>/pay-for-service/get-invoice/7900937577325144	delivered
Payment received	sms	+260 97* *** 567		delivered
Invitation to rate the service	sms	+260 97* *** 567		skipped
Invitation to rate the service	email	e2e.c***@example.test	How was Exploration Licence?	skipped
Licence / permit issued	sms	+260 97* *** 567		delivered
Decision: approved	email	e2e.c***@example.test	Application MMMD-EL/00001/10-22-26 completed	skipped
Licence / permit issued	email	e2e.c***@example.test	Your Exploration Licence document has been issued	skipped
Decision: approved	sms	+260 97* *** 567		delivered

Delivery: shown = in the portal's notification bell; delivered = the SMS gateway (a test double in this run) reported the text delivered; skipped = not sent on that channel (e-mail is not configured on the test installation, and some notices go out on one channel only); sent by the national portal = a ministry node handed the notice to the national portal, which texts and e-mails the citizen under its own name and the citizen's preferences. Addresses written <portal>, <ZamPay> stand for the national portal and ZamPay.

6. Legacy mapping

Item	Detail
Replaces	Exploration Licence in the legacy ZIGS e-Services directory (ZIGS_Services)
Legacy service id	100
Legacy provider	Cadastre Department (MMMD) under Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development
Legacy process	LicenseReview (process 9)
Fee in the legacy system	none
Fee taken before submission	yes (as in ZIGS)
Time to issue (legacy)	not recorded
Legacy output templates	Exploration Right Licence: ZIGS_Forms_MMMD / MMMD_ExplorationRightLicence.Certificate GS-1 Application for a Government Service: ZIGS_Forms_ZDA / GS1 GS-2 Notice of Government Action: ZIGS_Forms_Notices / GS-2.NoticeOfAction
Legacy address	https://mmmdui.gsb.gov.zm
How it was brought over	Imported by the platform's legacy catalogue importer (zcm-backend scripts/zigs/importLegacy.js) from the ZIGS snapshot: form, case types, fees, documents, process and output templates, then served by the new platform.

7. Version and date

Item	Detail
Document version	service v1, platform 7e6d0b65
Generated	2026-10-22T04:31:16Z (by the end-to-end run, not edited by hand)
Service version	not versioned (configured directly)
Platform snapshot	backend 7e6d0b65 portal f14fd24 back office 80a771f
Test suite	e2e 6c7099e; one installation (combined); seed profile mihud
Journeys	41-mining-licence-area-charges.spec.js: citizen: finds the service, gives the licence area; an overlapping area is refused, the free one accepted - passed 41-mining-licence-area-charges.spec.js: officer checks the application and sets the fee; the citizen pays it - passed 41-mining-licence-area-charges.spec.js: officer: the cadastre check and the technical recommendation on the case's "Mineral rights" tab; consent; supervisor - passed 41-mining-licence-area-charges.spec.js: the licensing committee grants it: the licence in force, the permit sealed, the area charge account opened - passed 41-mining-licence-area-charges.spec.js: officers: the register, the licence page with its corners as delivered, the cadastre map - passed 41-mining-licence-area-charges.spec.js: citizen: the licence in My permits with its area; sealed; verifies - passed 41-mining-licence-area-charges.spec.js: area charges: finance bills the year (another finance officer approves the run); the holder pays from the service's page - passed
Result	7 of 7 journey tests passed
Data	Synthetic test data on a local test installation; provider test doubles for ZamPass, ZamPay, SMS and signing.