JORC Competent Person Baseline Review.

General Overview.

This review is largely about some Governance aspects of AusIMM, AIG and the JORC code. Applied geoscientists will not find a draft version of the next JORC code. I find this report thorough though somewhat academic. There is some interesting industry data, and sniffs of some insights as to what parts of the revised JORC Code might be addressed. The report will be of interested to CRIRISCO parties who are keen to maintain an ongoing review of their own reporting codes.

You can download the Baseline Review here:?https://lnkd.in/gYiUsSV6

The Review.

The “JORC Competent Person – A baseline review in a global context [June 2022]” was released to the public in early October 2022. The report was prepared for the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy [AusIMM]and the Australian Institute of Geoscientists [AIG]. This is the present culmination of a JORC review process that has been going on since late 2020. The PDF report is 97 pages long, with a further 27 pages of references etc. The review “examines the current requirements for mineral industry professionals to act as Competent Persons for Public Reports of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves issued in accordance with the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves, 2012 Edition (JORC, 2012). The review examines the history of the JORC Code and standards of Competent Person accreditation in countries with Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards (CRIRSCO) “family” codes for reporting Mineral Resources and Mineral/Ore Reserves”.

The current review of the JORC Code presents an opportunity to address stakeholder concerns relating to competence and the conduct of Competent Persons. The JORC Code is constantly evolving in response to internal and external factors.

The report’s conclusions include - “The current review of the JORC Code presents an opportunity to address stakeholder concerns relating to competence and the conduct of Competent Persons. Competency is multi-dimensional and in the context of the JORC Code and professional standards includes: ? qualifications and experience; ? definition of a Competent Person; ? assessment of competence; ? industry training courses; ? monitoring of Public Reports; ? peer review; and ? disciplinary frameworks.”

Indonesia Mentioned.

Indonesia is mentioned when the report compares a number of CRIRSCO countries reporting codes, and in outlining the different approaches to registration of competent persons. Clause 4.4.2 gives a brief outline of “KCMI and its Participating Organizations (POs): IAGI and PERHAPI in Indonesia” (page 51). The report suggests a further review of the Indonesian & Chile competent person registration system (page 29), as input to the ongoing JORC code review.

International [section 6.3 - Accreditation in Mineral Resource Professions];

“Applicants for AusIMM or AIG membership are assessed by the relevant Institute for compliance with educational and professional experience standards, which are subject to regular review, particularly in the geoscience area due to curriculum changes at some Australian universities. Educational standards for overseas membership applicants are assessed with the aid of Qualification Assessments provided by the Department of Education, Skills and Employment.”

“A Competent Person for reporting to the ASX, must be a minerals industry professional who is a member or Fellow of the AusIMM, the AIG, or of a Recognised Professional Organisation (RPO), a list of which is published on both the JORC (JORC : Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves) and Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) (www.asx.com.au) websites. These organisations have enforceable disciplinary processes, including the powers to suspend or expel a member”. Note that the list of 26 RPO’s does not include any Indonesian entities.

The CRIRSCO Committee has an interest in ensuring continued alignment of international resource and reserve reporting codes (page 68).

Selected Extracts.

Public JORC code compliant Reports issued by ASX listed companies relate mainly to reporting of Exploration Results. Epstein & Hundert (2002) propose that standards of competence must be measurable. The concept of what constitutes “relevant experience” is an area that has attracted considerable debate. The issue of responsibility for the quality of the Competent Person’s work and the responsibility for monitoring report content were recurring themes over many earlier reviews. Registration to be able to act as a Competent Person is becoming more common. There is ongoing concern if an improvement to accreditation of resource industry practitioners would make professional indemnity insurance more accessible.

JORC parent Professional Organisations, (AusIMM & AIG), have two options available for improving management of members acting as Competent Persons in accordance with the JORC Code: 1. More comprehensive accreditation, where the AIG and the AusIMM retain responsibility for the accreditation and disciplining of Competent Persons; or, 2. Accepting registration of Competent Persons managed by a statutory or other external authority, with limited opportunity to shape requirements of Competent Persons.

Key topics identified by the stakeholder consultation survey of April 2021 included: ? better defining relevant experience; ? the need for improved guidance in applying the Code; ? the role of, and need for, peer review in establishing competence and helping to ensure report quality; ? access to Competent Person Curriculum Vitae (CV); ? a requirement for professional registration; ? effective Competent Person accreditation; ? training; and ? improved Competent Person guidance by parent bodies, the ASX and ASIC. The importance of risk analysis and coercion in relation to Ore Reserves was noted.