Preserve the reporting category
Read the technical report's own definitions and reporting code. Under JORC, resources and reserves are distinct categories, and conversion to reserves involves modifying factors. Do not relabel a resource as a reserve or treat either as inventory ready for sale. Retain the effective date, competent-person context and stated uncertainties.
The category matters to the decision. A sourcing team looking for current material needs operating and product evidence; a development investor may also examine the technical estimate and the conditions for progressing it.
Connect the estimate to the development path
Ask which steps separate the reported estimate from sustained output: further studies, permits, financing, construction, commissioning and qualification. The sequence is project-specific. A large estimate can be strategically relevant without resolving those milestones or the route to the required product.
Keep quantities on their original basis. Ore tonnes, contained rare-earth content and annual separated-product output are different measures. Dividing a resource by an assumed annual output does not establish an economic mine life without the necessary mining, recovery and development assumptions.
Illustrative supplier-screening mistake
A proposed project advertises a large resource while an operating facility reports a smaller annual product quantity. Comparing the two numbers as though they were competing annual suppliers is meaningless. Put the project in a future-development assessment and the operating facility in a current-supply assessment, then examine each on the relevant evidence.
What the category tells you
| Category | Keep separate from |
|---|---|
| Resource | An assertion of economically deliverable supply |
| Reserve | Actual annual output or an available order allocation |
| Production | Future resource potential and planned expansion |
Your review checklist
- Read the applicable reporting definitions.
- Retain category, scope and effective date.
- Identify the remaining development milestones.
- Never compare geological stock with annual flow as equivalent supply.
Investigate with Oreline
Oreline's project and operating-status research helps place geological potential in its industrial context. Use the evidence to distinguish what exists as a development opportunity from what has actually been reported as production.
Follow the evidence through the supply chain.
Explore Oreline’s guided investigations. No account required.
Explore the sandbox →Frequently asked questions
Can a resource become a reserve automatically over time?
No. The relevant technical and economic work and reporting requirements must support the change; elapsed time alone does not.
Is a reserve a guarantee of delivery?
No. Operations, processing, qualification and commercial allocation still determine whether material can be delivered to a particular buyer.