The SAMCODES, the South African Mineral Reporting Codes, set out the minimum standards, recommendations, and guidelines for the Public Reporting of mineral related issues in South Africa. They currently comprise three Codes, two Guideline documents and various affiliated standards and Codes of Practice / Best Practice Guidelines:
- SAMREC: The South African Code for the Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves
- SAMVAL: The South African Code for the Reporting of Mineral Asset Valuation
- SAMOG: The South African Code for the Reporting of Oil and Gas Resources
- Commodity, or subject, specific guidelines/standards:
- SAMESG Guideline: The South African Guideline for the Reporting of Environmental, Social and Governance parameters within the mining and oil and gas industries
- SAMREC Diamond Guidelines: SAMREC Guideline Document for the Reporting of Diamond Exploration Results, Diamond Resources and Diamond Reserves (and other Gemstones, where Relevant)
- Affiliated Standards /Codes of Practice / Best Practice Guidelines
- SANS 10320:2017: South African guide to the systematic evaluation of coal resources and coal reserves. This document is a South African National Standard, published by the South African Bureau of Standards.
- Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management. This standard, supported by the ICMM is not a public reporting standard, but a voluntary framework for safe tailings facility management
History of the SAMCODES
In 1992 a committee was formed by the Geological Society of South Africa (GSSA), including the Geostatistical Association of South Africa (GASA), in response to the Council of Mining and Metallurgical Institutions (CMMI), to compile the first South African Code for reporting mineral resource and mineral reserves. The final draft (‘Draft 6’) was presented in conjunction with the SAIMM for discussion at the 1994 CMMI Conference at Sun City and to the JSE Listing Committee. In 1994, the CMMI formed an ad-hoc International Definitions Group to create a set of international definitions for reporting mineral resources and mineral reserves with representatives from mining and metallurgical institutions from the United States (SME), Australia (AusIMM), Canada (CIM), the United Kingdom (IMM) and South Africa (SAIMM).
A major break-through came in October 1997 when the CMMI International Definitions Group met in Denver, Colorado and reached a provisional agreement (the Denver Accord) on definitions of mineral resources and mineral reserves. The definitions in the SAMREC Code are consistent with those agreed at the Denver Accord by the CMMI participants.
The first version of the SAMREC Code (the South African Code for Reporting of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves was issued in March 2000, and was incorporated in the JSE Listings Rules (Section 12) shortly thereafter. A revised edition was completed in 2007, and was accepted by the Councils of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM) and the Geological Society of South Africa (GSSA) in mid-2007, and as such is binding on those members. This edition was also incorporated in the updated listings rules of the JSE Ltd.
In late 2004 the update of the SAMREC Code commenced, culminating in a revised version being issued in mid-2007.
The process for establishing the SAMVAL Code (the South African Code for Reporting of Mineral Asset Valuations) was initiated through an open meeting at a colloquium convened by the SAIMM in March 2002. Various papers and articles were published on the matter and the colloquium called for comment and mandates. This Code was published in 2008.
In addition, in late 2005 it was decided that an Oil and Gas Code would be developed as a separate Code.
The latest (2016) version of the SAMCODES was released at the blowing of the kudu horn at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on Thursday 19th May. This launch followed the highly successful SAMREC/SAMVAL Companion Volume Conference held at Emperors Palace during 17-18 May, 2016.
