Resource Estimates

Resource reporting standards preclude a company selectively choosing a small sample of drill holes to misrepresent a deposit. Results modelled in a resource estimate are divided into categories based on degree of confidence. After the initial resource is defined, the company must convert results to higher probability to be competitive. Inferred resources are 30%, Measured and Indicated resources are 60%, and Proven and Probable reserves are 90%.

Favourable reports would imply a company can secure financing for production. Yet success remains far from certain since complex agreements must be concluded with long term service providers, financing partners, and local governments. Many companies remain in this development phase for an extended period until a decision is rendered on their future.

The Preliminary Economic Assessment is the first official presentation of a defined resource. Further results and testing for the viability of a mine culminate in the Pre Feasibility Study. The Feasibility Study makes the most confident claims on the deposit operating more as a business plan. By this stage a company will have the attention of a wider group of investors and have a higher probability of reaching production. The expected time between reports begins at a year and can drag out much longer in some cases. A reasonable expectation from start to finish is ten to fifteen years.

Within each of these reports will necessarily be reference to the resource as it currently is to be understood. The mining industry uses a rubric to understand how likely the mineral is to be found in a location, and how economical the extraction would be based on present costs. A high degree of certainty with attractive economics would be labelled " " whereas one with limited knowledge and expensive to accede would be labelled " ".

Estimate (CIM Estimation of Mineral Resource) block models, histogram, envelopes Modelling and Mineral estimate software ellipses Final resource statement