The aim of CRIRSCO (Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards) is to contribute to earning and maintaining that trust by promoting high standards of reporting of mineral deposit estimates (Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves) and of exploration progress (Exploration Results).

CRIRSCO was formed in 1994 and for much of its life was an informal alliance of National Reporting Organisations (NROs) in participating countries (see “Background to CRIRSCO”). With the rapid increase in international activity associated with the mining industry in recent years, CRIRSCO has evolved to become a more rigorously constituted committee. It is recognised by global organisations such as the International Accounting Standards Board  (IASB) , the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe  (UNECE)  and the International Council on Mining and Metals  (ICMM) , as the key international organisation representing the mining industry on issues relating to the classification and reporting of mineral assets.

CRIRSCO is currently involved in a number of initiatives which will impact on the future of the mining industry (see “Current CRIRSCO Activities”). It has also published on this web site the first edition of the CRIRSCO International Reporting Template (see “Template”). This is a document that represents the best of the CRIRSCO-style codes, reporting standards that are recognised and adopted world-wide for market-related reporting and financial investment. It is available free of charge for any country wishing to develop its own CRIRSCO-type reporting standard, and will be kept up to date to reflect new national or international developments .  The CRIRSCO Template is also the basis for discussions with organisations including the IASB on standardising the approach of the extractive industries (oil, gas and solid minerals) to resource and reserve definition for financial accounting purposes.

CRIRSCO exists because of the dedication of hard-working volunteers in NROs and the organisations that support the NROs. These are listed in “Useful Links” and we take this opportunity to express our deep gratitude for their support. We would encourage anyone interested in the important field of classification and reporting of mineral assets to support, and participate through, these organisations.

Thank you.

Niall Weatherstone
Chairman
CRIRSCO

Background to CRIRSCO

CRIRSCO, which was formed in 1994 under the auspices of the Council of Mining and Metallurgical Institutes (CMMI), is a grouping of representatives of organisations that are responsible for developing mineral reporting codes and guidelines in Australia (JORC), Chile (National Committee), Canada (CIM), South Africa (SAMREC), the USA (SME), UK (National Committee) and Western Europe (IGI and EFG). The combined value of mining companies listed on the stock exchanges of these countries accounts for more than 80% of the listed capital of the mining industry.

The international initiative to standardise market-related reporting definitions for mineral resources and mineral reserves had its start at the 15th CMMI Congress at Sun City, South Africa in 1994. The mineral definitions working group (later called CRIRSCO) was formed after a meeting at that Congress, and was made up of representatives from the countries listed above (except for Chile, which joined later), with the primary objective of developing a set of international standard definitions for the reporting of mineral resources and mineral reserves.

In 1997, the five participants reached agreement (the Denver Accord) for the definitions of the two major categories, Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, and their respective sub-categories Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources, and Proved and Probable Mineral Reserves.

In 1999, agreement was reached with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE), which had, since 1992, been developing an International Framework Classification for Mineral Reserves and Resources (UNFC), to incorporate into the UNFC the CMMI-CRIRSCO resource / reserve definitions for those categories that were common to both systems. This agreement gave true international status to the CMMI-CRIRSCO definitions.

Following these agreements, an updated version of the JORC Code was released in Australia in 1999 (and more recently, in 2005), followed by similar codes and guidelines in South Africa, USA, Canada, UK / Ireland / W Europe, Chile and Peru. The JORC Code (Joint Ore Reserves Committee of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Australian Institute of Geoscientists, and Minerals Council of Australia) has played a crucial role in initiating the development of standards definitions for these codes and guidelines.

The similarity of the various national reporting codes and guidelines has enabled CRIRSCO to develop an International Minerals Reporting Code Template, which is available on this web site. This can act as a "core code and guidelines" for any country wishing to adopt its own CRIRSCO-style reporting standard, after including provisions for country-specific requirements such as those of a legal and investment regulatory nature.