What is the JORC 2012 Table 1?

Table 1 is the JORC 2012 Code’s checklist of assessment and reporting criteria. The Competent Person works through it in their documentation, and it accompanies the Public Report itself when a significant project reports Exploration Results, Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves for the first time, or when they materially change. It records the criteria the Competent Person considered, and — for any criterion not addressed — why not.

The JORC 2012 Code

The JORC Code — the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves — is the professional standard governing how mineral exploration results, mineral resources, and ore reserves are reported in Australia and New Zealand. It is prepared by the Joint Ore Reserves Committee, which is constituted of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), the Australian Institute of Geoscientists (AIG), and the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA). The Financial Services Institute of Australasia endorses the Code.

The Code operates on two levels. It is a binding professional obligation for members of AusIMM and AIG through their membership rules. It also has regulatory effect for listed companies through the ASX and NZX listing rules, which require that resource and reserve disclosures comply with the Code.

The current edition is JORC 2012. Previous editions were the first edition (1989) and revised editions in 1992, 1996, 1999, and 2004.

When a Table 1 is required

Clause 5 of the Code sets Table 1’s role at two levels. Within the Competent Person’s documentation — the working record behind any report — comments on the items in the relevant sections of Table 1 should be provided on an “if not, why not” basis. In the Public Report itself, the Code requires (Clauses 19, 27 and 35) that first-time or materially changed Exploration Results, Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves for significant projects be accompanied by a technical summary of all relevant sections of Table 1 on an “if not, why not” basis, as an appendix to the report. For Coal Resources and Coal Reserves, Clauses 1 to 41 otherwise apply (Clause 42), and Table 1 should be considered when reporting.

A Public Report that includes an Exploration Target (Clause 17) must explain the basis for the statement — including the level of exploration activity already completed — carry the “conceptual in nature” clarification in the same paragraph as the first reference to the target, and state whether the target is based on actual Exploration Results or on proposed exploration programmes.

A Public Report is the Code’s term for any disclosure issued with the purpose of informing the investment market — an ASX or NZX announcement, a section of an annual report, or an investor presentation that includes mineral estimates. The company Board is responsible for the Public Report as a whole.

Where a company re-issues estimates that have not materially changed, Clause 9 of the Code provides a relaxation of the Competent Person consent requirement — the company may proceed without obtaining fresh prior written consent, provided specific conditions are met. See How does CP consent work? for those conditions, including the annual reporting exception under Clause 15.

Structure of the Table 1

The Table 1 is organised into five sections that correspond to the main reporting categories of the Code:

1. Sampling techniques and data — the Code notes that criteria in this section apply to all succeeding sections, so it is worked through whichever category is being reported.
2. Reporting of Exploration Results — required for all reports containing Exploration Results.
3. Estimation and reporting of Mineral Resources — required when the report contains a Mineral Resource estimate.
4. Estimation and reporting of Ore Reserves — required when the report contains an Ore Reserve estimate.
5. Estimation and reporting of Diamonds and Other Gemstones — for diamond and gemstone projects, in addition to the other relevant sections; the Code notes that criteria listed in other relevant sections also apply to this section.

Each section contains a table of criteria. For each criterion, the report must either provide the required information or explain why the criterion does not apply or cannot be addressed.

The “if not, why not” principle

Not every criterion will be relevant to every project or deposit. Under Clause 5, each item in the relevant sections of Table 1 must be discussed — and if it is not discussed, the Competent Person must explain why it has been omitted. A blank entry does not meet the Code: the purpose is to make clear to an investor whether an item has been considered and deemed of low consequence, or is not yet addressed or resolved. This is the “if not, why not” principle that runs through the Table 1.

The Competent Person

A Competent Person (CP) is a minerals industry professional who takes responsibility for the technical content of a Public Report. Clause 11 of the Code sets the requirements:

• At least five years of relevant industry experience working on deposits or mineralisation styles comparable to the one being reported, gained in the specific technical activity — exploration, resource estimation, reserve assessment — that the report covers.
• Current membership or Fellowship of AusIMM, AIG, or a Recognised Professional Organisation (RPO) included on the list maintained by JORC and the ASX.

Each section of a Public Report must have a named Competent Person. Clause 9 requires the Competent Person to consent to the form and context in which the report is released. Clause 9 also contains provisions that apply when a report is re-issued without material change to the estimates it contains.

Materiality

Clause 4 sets out the Materiality principle: a Public Report must contain all the relevant information that investors and their professional advisers would reasonably require, and reasonably expect to find in the report, for the purpose of making a reasoned and balanced judgement regarding the Exploration Results, Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves being reported. Where relevant information is not supplied, an explanation must be provided to justify its exclusion. The Table 1 criteria are the Code’s mechanism for ensuring that information meeting this test reaches the reader.

Format and presentation

The guidelines accompanying each reporting section of the Code recommend that the Table 1 criteria be addressed in an appendix to the Public Report. This is the standard form for ASX and NZX resource and reserve announcements: the body of the announcement carries the headline estimate; the Table 1 appendix carries the technical disclosure.

The full JORC 2012 Code

The complete text of the JORC 2012 Code — including all criteria, guidelines, and definitions — is available at jorc.org/docs.

This page is an educational summary of the JORC 2012 Code. It is not legal or professional advice. Refer to the full Code text at jorc.org/docs and seek professional guidance specific to your situation.

TableOne Flow is built around the JORC 2012 Table 1 structure. If you draft or sign Table 1s, register your interest and tell us about your setup.