Critical Review of Mineral Resource Classification Techniques in the Gold Mining Industry

Abstract

This paper investigates the different classification techniques used by the gold mining industry professionals to classify mineral resources into measured, indicated and inferred categories. The research is based on forty-five (45) public disclosure reports from System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) and one general classification guideline of a major gold producer unlisted on SEDAR. The survey includes public documents categorized by various geologic types of deposits and companies considered as major, mid-tier and junior gold mining operators. It encompasses 19 NI 43-101 technical reports filed in 2018 and 26 reports filed between 2006 and 2017. The purpose of the research is to explore and understand how the different mining companies perform classification of mineral resources in terms of the requirements used and different deposit type consideration. The paper summarizes the survey results, discusses the general implications and the need for developing more formal approach to mineral resource classification.