202
disclosure reports on System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR)
(www.sedar.com) were reviewed with respect to gold mining companies considered as major,
mid-tier and junior categories. The survey covered 20 junior, 20 mid-tier, and 5 major companies in North America, South America, Asia, and Africa.
The Council of Mining and Metallurgical Institutes (CMMI) in 1994, formed a working group of representatives from different organizations to standardize mineral resource
definitions. In 2000, the committee became the Combined Reserves International Reporting
Standards Committee (CRIRSCO) and introduced a concept that Measured and Indicated
mineral resources had to support mine planning. The main reporting codes produced by the
member CRIRSCO institutions are the Canadian National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101)
Code, the Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) Code, the South African Mineral Resource Committee (SAMREC) Code and the American Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) Guide, 2007. Other reporting codes include the Europe and
United Kingdom (PERC) Code, the Brazil (CBRR) Guide, Chile and Peru (CMC) Guide,
the Kazakhstan (KAZRC) Guide, the Mongolia (MRC) Code, and the Russia (NAEN)
Code. The common goal of the various standard reporting codes is to ensure competence,
materiality and transparency, Shaw et al (2006).
The principle of competence unreservedly assumes that the estimation and classification
are done correctly, according to the current accepted practice. The transparency requires
that the information contained in a public report should be accurate and sufficient. The
materiality requires that all the relevant information needed by investors and their professional advisors to enable them to make informed business decisions should be contained in
the public report. However, none of the standard codes specifies the consistent procedures
to be followed by QPs in ensuring these three key inputs are included in public reporting of
mineral resources.
1.3 System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR)
SEDAR is an official webpage developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators to
provide access to most public securities documents and information. The statutory objective of the webpage is to enhance investor awareness of the respective business and to promote confidence in the transparent operation of capital markets in Canada. The Canadian
Institute of Mining Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves (CIM Definition Standards) established the guidance on the definitions for mineral resources, mineral reserves, and mining studies used in Canada (www.cim.org). The Canadian Securities
Administrators (CSA) developed the NI 43-101 reporting code and it came into force in
2001. The code was established to provide best practice standards and guidelines for public
disclosure of mineral resources and reserves reports in Canada. It was amended in 2005,
2011 and 2014.
The NI 43-101 reporting code focuses on improving the standards of practicing governing operating activities and the need for good public disclosure. It provides some specific
requirements for reporting mineral resource estimates and classification to meet standard
public disclosure. The guideline enforces the QPs to provide information that are comprehensive in their technical reports on exploration information, mineral resources and mineral
reserves. However, the guideline is not prescriptive in terms of geological details, as the
quantity of geological information needed to categorize mineral resources were not provided. The quality of reports vary as industry practices and assumptions considered by
various QPs differ. Currently, there is no one particular document that specifies the acceptable industry practice and assumption to be followed by all QPs. Considering same mineral
deposit, different QPs employ different assumptions and techniques to generate the estimation and classification with the same project drilling data. At each stage of the estimation
process, different expertise skills are applied. Due to different approaches used by different
industry professionals to analyze and interpret geologic data, there are various misleading
public reports in the mining industry. The definition of each classification category can be
found on www.cim.org.
disclosure reports on System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR)
(www.sedar.com) were reviewed with respect to gold mining companies considered as major,
mid-tier and junior categories. The survey covered 20 junior, 20 mid-tier, and 5 major companies in North America, South America, Asia, and Africa.
The Council of Mining and Metallurgical Institutes (CMMI) in 1994, formed a working group of representatives from different organizations to standardize mineral resource
definitions. In 2000, the committee became the Combined Reserves International Reporting
Standards Committee (CRIRSCO) and introduced a concept that Measured and Indicated
mineral resources had to support mine planning. The main reporting codes produced by the
member CRIRSCO institutions are the Canadian National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101)
Code, the Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) Code, the South African Mineral Resource Committee (SAMREC) Code and the American Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) Guide, 2007. Other reporting codes include the Europe and
United Kingdom (PERC) Code, the Brazil (CBRR) Guide, Chile and Peru (CMC) Guide,
the Kazakhstan (KAZRC) Guide, the Mongolia (MRC) Code, and the Russia (NAEN)
Code. The common goal of the various standard reporting codes is to ensure competence,
materiality and transparency, Shaw et al (2006).
The principle of competence unreservedly assumes that the estimation and classification
are done correctly, according to the current accepted practice. The transparency requires
that the information contained in a public report should be accurate and sufficient. The
materiality requires that all the relevant information needed by investors and their professional advisors to enable them to make informed business decisions should be contained in
the public report. However, none of the standard codes specifies the consistent procedures
to be followed by QPs in ensuring these three key inputs are included in public reporting of
mineral resources.
1.3 System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR)
SEDAR is an official webpage developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators to
provide access to most public securities documents and information. The statutory objective of the webpage is to enhance investor awareness of the respective business and to promote confidence in the transparent operation of capital markets in Canada. The Canadian
Institute of Mining Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves (CIM Definition Standards) established the guidance on the definitions for mineral resources, mineral reserves, and mining studies used in Canada (www.cim.org). The Canadian Securities
Administrators (CSA) developed the NI 43-101 reporting code and it came into force in
2001. The code was established to provide best practice standards and guidelines for public
disclosure of mineral resources and reserves reports in Canada. It was amended in 2005,
2011 and 2014.
The NI 43-101 reporting code focuses on improving the standards of practicing governing operating activities and the need for good public disclosure. It provides some specific
requirements for reporting mineral resource estimates and classification to meet standard
public disclosure. The guideline enforces the QPs to provide information that are comprehensive in their technical reports on exploration information, mineral resources and mineral
reserves. However, the guideline is not prescriptive in terms of geological details, as the
quantity of geological information needed to categorize mineral resources were not provided. The quality of reports vary as industry practices and assumptions considered by
various QPs differ. Currently, there is no one particular document that specifies the acceptable industry practice and assumption to be followed by all QPs. Considering same mineral
deposit, different QPs employ different assumptions and techniques to generate the estimation and classification with the same project drilling data. At each stage of the estimation
process, different expertise skills are applied. Due to different approaches used by different
industry professionals to analyze and interpret geologic data, there are various misleading
public reports in the mining industry. The definition of each classification category can be
found on www.cim.org.