OK, I've done some digging. I am now fully confident that they...

OK, I've done some digging.

I am now fully confident that they have rounded up. Check out this expert form the JORC code:




So they are simply complying with JORC guidelines.

The reason they round up/down for these reports is due to the inherent uncertainty associated with inferred resource. Unfortunately in this case, rounding up to a single decimal point leads to a huge difference due to how small the numbers are to begin with. This appears to simply be a loophole in the JORC guidelines that NVA may or may not have slightly exploited.

This does, strictly speaking, seem to validate that the reporting is correct and adheres to guidelines.

Now, that doesn't mean its a little.... mischievous... as the guidelines do say 'in most situations'. Personally, I would probably argue this is certainly a situation where rounding up should not have taken place.

For those interested, here's the full document. The relevant section is on page 14.
http://www.jorc.org/docs/jorc_code2012.pdf

Now, what this means, technically, is one of two things (or most likely a combination of the two:
1) most of the new 800koz is lower grade, probably between 0.20 and 0.30 g/t.
2) the new estimation methodologies resulting is a slightly lower grade in the volume that was previously already estimated. This is common as estimations progress to more mature forms and are subjected to increased scrutiny and increased data (which can make things more variable).

Overall, this is not too concerning. However, it certainly does need to hamper expectations for the deeper extents of block B. Clearly, the deeper stuff is lower grade and therefore has a reduced chance of being economically viable at low gold prices.

all IMO. I'm still comfortable for the time being.