The same resource, three regulatory languages

The international standardization of mineral asset reporting, anchored in the JORC, NI 43-101, and S-K 1300 codes, stems from a common normative architecture but operates under distinct supervisory logics. Although all share the CRIRSCO taxonomy, technical application and legal liability vary according to the jurisdiction and the target capital market. Understanding these nuances is essential for the accurate valuation of projects and for risk mitigation in M&A processes involving jurisdictions with asymmetric regulatory regimes.

The common foundation: the CRIRSCO International Reporting Template#

The cornerstone of modern mineral resource and reserve reporting is the International Reporting Template from the Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards (CRIRSCO). This document does not constitute law in itself but serves as a reference standard that harmonizes definitions, categories, and terminologies used globally. Its structure is based on three fundamental pillars: transparency, materiality, and competence. Transparency requires the presentation of all data necessary for an understanding of the report; materiality ensures that crucial information for decision-making is not omitted; and competence ensures that data are validated by qualified professionals.

The central logic of the CRIRSCO model consists of classifying assets based on geological confidence and economic viability, dividing deposits into mineral resources — subcategorized into inferred, indicated, and measured — and mineral reserves — probable and proved. The distinction between these confidence levels is not purely geological but depends on the application of modifiers (mining, metallurgical, economic, marketing, legal, environmental, social, and governmental factors). The conversion of a resource into a reserve is the critical moment when a geological asset transitions into a financial variable subject to accounting record or market value demonstration.

JORC: the principles-based Australasian code#

The JORC Code, developed in Australia, is frequently cited as the precursor to the principles-based approach within the CRIRSCO family. Unlike overly prescriptive norms, JORC focuses on the responsibility of the Competent Person to ensure that disclosure adequately reflects the nature of the asset and associated risks. The code establishes that any public report of exploration or resource estimation must be signed by a professional with relevant experience in the type of mineralization and deposit method in question, with this qualification validated by recognized professional organizations.

The effectiveness of JORC lies in its flexibility in dealing with geological diversity while maintaining technical accountability tied to the professional figure. However, this flexibility should not be confused with a lack of rigor. ASX listing rules require companies to demonstrate compliance with the code's guidelines in every statement. In practice, emphasis is placed on the quality of base data and the robustness of geological interpretation, requiring the report to be clear enough for an investor to accurately infer the technical uncertainties that permeate the presented estimate.

NI 43-101: the more prescriptive Canadian securities rule#

The NI 43-101 instrument, issued by Canadian securities authorities, shifts the regulatory axis by introducing a more prescriptive layer of compliance. While JORC focuses on the professional's conduct, NI 43-101 acts as a strict disclosure regulation. It precisely defines what constitutes a "Technical Report" and establishes formal requirements regarding content, presentation format, and the responsibilities of the Qualified Person. The primary objective is to protect the retail investor through rigorous standardization of what must be reported and how economic premises must be justified.

One of the distinctive aspects of NI 43-101 is the requirement that estimates be accompanied by a detailed technical document describing the entire chain of custody of information, from sampling to metallurgical processing. If an investor is analyzing a project under this aegis, they will find standardized documentation that facilitates comparison between different assets. However, this prescriptive nature imposes high compliance costs, as any deviation in formatting or required methodology can result in formal inquiries by Canadian securities commissions, regardless of the intrinsic technical validity of the project.

S-K 1300: the SEC rule for registrants in the United States#

The entry into force of the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) S-K 1300 rule marked the definitive convergence of the North American market toward CRIRSCO standards. Before the implementation of this regulation, registrants in the U.S. followed dated guidelines that did not fully recognize the complexity of modern deposits. Currently, S-K 1300 requires companies with significant mineral assets to publish resource and reserve reports aligned with rigorous technical criteria, maintaining consistency with what was already practiced on other global exchanges, but adapted to the United States' regulatory framework for investor protection.

The rule imposes requirements for "Property Summary" disclosure and mandates that resource and reserve estimates be validated by a Qualified Person, a term that bears similarity to the Canadian model. The practical implication for the market is that the SEC can now require comprehensive technical reports, covering everything from geology to commodity price sensitivity analysis, in a format that allows for greater comparability between mining companies of different sizes. Compliance with S-K 1300 is, therefore, a passport of credibility for companies seeking access to North American institutional capital.

Brazil has its own standard: the CBRR Guide and ANM Resolution 94/2022#

Brazil consolidated its alignment with the CRIRSCO system through ANM Resolution 94/2022 and the adoption of the CBRR (Brazilian Committee for Mineral Resources and Reserves Certifications) Guide. This regulatory change was fundamental for the integration of the Brazilian mineral sector into global transparency standards. The Brazilian system now requires technical reports for public and market disclosure purposes to be submitted for the seal of Qualified Persons (QP), professionals linked to recognized certifying entities, ensuring that the national report follows international guidelines for resource and reserve categories.

The adoption of these standards in Brazil does not alter the geological nature of the deposit but transforms its market "language." Before ANM 94/2022, Brazil operated under a regime of internal reports aimed almost exclusively at title management before the regulatory agency. With convergence to CRIRSCO, Brazil began to speak the same language as international capital markets. This means that a Brazilian project, now reported via the CBRR Guide, is readable for investors accustomed to the Australian JORC or Canadian NI 43-101, facilitating the technical due diligence process.

How a Brazilian asset is read by those who only know JORC or NI 43-101#

For a foreign investor, the transposition of the Brazilian geological reality to the NI 43-101 or JORC standard is an exercise in terminological and procedural equivalence. When an M&A executive evaluates a Brazilian asset that has been reported following ANM 94/2022 guidelines, the risk of misinterpretation is minimized by the common CRIRSCO foundation. However, the investor still needs to observe how the "modifiers" were applied. If a Brazilian report uses operational cost or tax assumptions that diverge from international market projections, reserve equivalence becomes the primary point of attention.

Consider a hypothetical scenario: a copper project in Brazil had its reserves estimated using the CBRR Guide by a local Qualified Person. A foreign investor, conditioned to the rigor of NI 43-101, requests a conversion of the report to meet Canadian compliance requirements before authorizing a venture capital round. If the conversion methodology ignores the peculiarities of the original sampling data or fails to justify the new economic modifiers under the prism of Canadian target costs, the reserve estimate may be downgraded from "proved" to "indicated" or "inferred" during technical audit, not due to geological failure, but due to inefficiency in regulatory transposition.

This technical translation exercise requires verification of the following fundamental aspects in any transposition process between standards:

1. Validation of the authority of the Qualified Person who signed the original report.
2. Analysis of the database (QA/QC) to verify adherence to recognized laboratory standards.
3. Review of modifying factors, ensuring that economic premises are consistent with the target market.
4. Comparison between mineral resource categories adopted in the local standard versus the standard of the market of interest.
5. Verification of the existence of inconsistencies in geological interpolation methodology.
6. Adjustment of viability premises (cutoff grades) according to the economic sensitivity required by the new jurisdiction.

Convergence to a single standard, under the aegis of CRIRSCO, does not extinguish the need for diligent technical analysis, but it establishes the basis for trust between the asset holder and the investor to be built upon standardized data. Mastering the nuances between JORC, NI 43-101, and S-K 1300 is what ultimately allows a Brazilian mineral resource to be evaluated with the same rigor as a project in Australia or Canada, closing the cycle that links technical regulation to market valuation.

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