The South African Mineral Reporting Codes (SAMCODES) are codified sets of standards and guidelines applicable to the South African Minerals and Petroleum Industries, drafted and overseen by the SAMCODES Standards Committee (SSC), a professional and non-governmental body. Specifically, the standards and guidelines are applicable to public reports compiled on behalf of South African Minerals and Petroleum companies for the benefit of investors. The Codes are incorporated into Section 12 of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) Listings Rules, which detail "the criteria for the listing of, and the additional disclosure requirements for Mineral Companies and, in certain circumstances, substantial mineral assets of non-Mineral Companies" in South Africa. As such, the SSC acts in an advisory capacity to the JSE, ensuring that reports submitted for listings consideration are compliant with the SAMCODES.
The Codes set out minimum standards for Public Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral (or Oil and Gas) Resources and Ore Reserves and their Valuation for listed and non-listed entities, or those companies wishing to list or raise capital for a Minerals or Petroleum Project. Public Reports include, but are not limited to, annual and quarterly company reports, press releases, information memoranda, technical papers, website postings and public presentations. The purpose of the codes is to protect the investment community from misleading information with regards to mineral resources and reserves.
The Codes are principles-based, and are designed to provide investors and potential investors with the minimum, material information for an informed investment decision. Public Reports require sign-off by a duly qualified, experienced and registered professional person, named a "Competent Person" or "Competent Valuator" or "Qualified Reserves Evaluator".
The SAMCODES currently comprise three codes, namely SAMREC: The South African Code for the Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (2016); SAMVAL: The South African Code for the Reporting of Mineral Asset Valuation (2016); and SAMOG: The South African Code for the Reporting of Oil and Gas Resources (2015).
History
Following the formation of a committee in 1992 by the GSSA to compile a South African Code for the reporting of mineral resources and mineral reserves, a draft was presented for discussion at the 15th Conference of the Council of Mining and Metallurgical Institutions (CMMI), at Sun City, South Africa in 1994. The CMMI then created an ad-hoc International Definitions Group (later to become the Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards (CRIRSCO)) consisting of representatives from mining and metallurgical institutions from Australia, Canada, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the USA, whose purpose was to "[develop] a set of international standard definitions for the reporting of mineral resources and mineral reserves". In 1997 in Denver, Colorado, the group reached a consensus on the standard definitions (known as the Denver Accord), which are now common to all CRIRSCO aligned codes and have been incorporated into the UN Framework Classification.
In compliance with the Denver Accord, the first version of the SAMREC Code was published in March 2000. A rewrite of the SAMREC Code was proposed in 2004, whilst in 2002 work had begun on the establishment of a code for the valuation of mineral assets (SAMVAL) and in 2005 a decision was made to develop a separate oil and gas code (SAMOG). In 2007 and 2008 respectively, the updated version of the SAMREC Code and the first version of the SAMVAL Code were published, with the input of over one hundred people - including mining-industry professionals, and members of the financial and investment communities - assisting in their creations.
The current versions of the SAMCODES were released during the opening of the JSE on 19 May 2016.
Description
SAMREC
The code details three main categories for the reporting on mining projects, these are Exploration Results, Mineral Resources, and Mineral Reserves.
When interest is first expressed in the geology of an area, preliminary work is undertaken by Competent Person/s (CP) on the site, the results of which may be of interest to investors and are reported as Exploration Results or Exploration Target, but which should not be considered a declaration of Mineral Resources or Reserves. According to SSC standards, CPs are required to have at least five years of experience relevant to the style of mineralisation, the type of deposit and the activity that is being undertaken.