SJB
Settle petal! I don't mean to target your posts specifically and I didn't realise I was doing that. There's definitely no offense intended in my posts and apols if they've been taken as offensive.
I do however stand by my comments re forward-looking statements. And, as you requested, here are some excerpts from the ASIC website re guidelines to mining companies on publically-made "forward-looking statements" and the JORC code. (Note: my bolding in text):
What is a forward-looking statement?
A forward-looking statement is a statement about a future matter and is not just a statement about your company's present intention.
For mining or exploration companies, production targets (i.e. projections or forecasts of the amount of minerals to be extracted from mining tenements for periods that extend past the current and forthcoming year), forecast financial information, and income-based valuations are forward-looking statements because they comprise, or are based on, statements about future matters.
Production targets and forecast financial information have a predictive nature because:
- production targets predict future mineral production
- forecast financial information generally predicts capital and operational costs and attaches net present discounted dollar values.
You should therefore only make these statements if you have reasonable grounds for the underlying assumptions supporting the production target or forecast financial information.
How can reasonable grounds be established?
As previously stated, in establishing reasonable grounds for forward-looking statements, you must take into account relevant professional and industry standards.
For production targets, forecast financial information and income-based valuations, you should establish reasonable grounds with particular reference to Figure 1 of the JORC Code's reporting and estimation framework for mineral resources and ore reserves reporting.
In Figure 1, mineral resources are defined with increasing levels of geological knowledge and confidence.
Figure 1 also sets out 'modifying factors'. These relate to the considerations used to convert mineral resources to ore reserves and include, but are not limited to, mining, processing, metallurgical, infrastructure, economic, marketing, legal, environmental, social and government requirements.
For reasonable grounds to be established in estimating production targets, forecast financial information and income-based valuations, the JORC Code mineral resource estimates being used must be based on a sufficient level of geological knowledge and confidence, and all JORC Code modifying factors must be sufficiently progressed.
The above info may not be conclusive but
my interpretation is as follows:
No JORC reserve => No reasonable grounds for publishing forward-looking statements regarding expected gold head-grades and hence expected gold production rates.
Note, presumably there is no problem making statements as to how many tonnes of ore you are planning to process (and at what tpa processing rate) as that relates only to your production facility and is independent of the grades of ore to be processed. However, imo you cannot extend the mining/processing targets to a gold production target as this is reliant on the average head grades and, without a JORC reserve, you do not have "reasonable grounds" for estimating the head grades of the ore to be mined in the future ...
SJB, you're quite entitled to disagree with me. I won't take offence ... ;-)
