The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Evaluate a junior miner by tracing the evidence from its project rights and technical reports through geology, resource confidence, economic assumptions and ability to fund the next work. A promising drill result is not a resource, and a resource is not a mineable reserve. Exploration potential is a judgment about what the evidence supports—and what remains unproven—not a guarantee of future value.
What should you verify first?
Start with the exact property and the company’s legal interest in it. A deposit or drill result on nearby ground may provide geological context, but it is not evidence about the company’s own property. NI 43-101 defines an adjacent property as one in which the issuer has no interest.
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- Identify the project, jurisdiction and the company’s ownership, option or earn-in interest.
- Check for royalties, streams, payment obligations, work commitments, expiry dates and conditions that could affect the company’s ability to retain or advance the property.
- Distinguish the issuer’s land from nearby properties used as geological comparisons.
These details are company- and jurisdiction-specific. Confirm them in current issuer filings and relevant land or title records rather than relying on a project summary.
Which technical disclosure should you read?
Find the report, then check its date and scope
Locate the filed mining technical report and confirm which property and issuer interest it covers, which disclosure regime applies, who prepared it, and the report’s effective date. Under Canadian NI 43-101, the effective date is the date of the most recent scientific or technical information included in the report. A report can therefore be older than a later news release, or describe a project state that subsequent work has changed.
Read the report alongside later company news releases and filings. Check whether new results alter the geology, resource estimate, recommended work or key assumptions. A headline in a release is not a substitute for the supporting technical disclosure.
Assess the authors and supporting work
Review the authors’ relevant expertise, the data and sources they relied on, any reported site inspection, work completed and recommended next steps. Regulatory requirements vary by market and issuer: Canadian NI 43-101 and the U.S. SEC’s mining disclosure rules are distinct frameworks, not one universal reporting code. The SEC’s small-entity compliance guide explains technical report summary and qualified-person requirements in specified circumstances. Check the rules that actually apply to the company and filing.
Do the drill results support a coherent geological case?
Interpret grades and intervals in the context of the deposit model and the full drill program. A high-grade intercept is a sample of mineralization along a drill hole; by itself, it does not establish the shape, size or continuity of a deposit.
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- Geological fit: Does the proposed deposit model match the host rocks, structure and mineralization described in the report?
- Continuity and geometry: Are results consistent across holes and sections? How do drill spacing, hole orientation, depth and estimated true width affect the interpretation?
- Representativeness: Are the highlighted intervals consistent with the broader program, or do they describe selected results without enough context to judge the pattern?
- Sampling and assays: Does the disclosure explain sample collection, preparation, analytical methods, laboratory work and quality-control procedures?
- Verification: Does the report explain how data were checked and whether they are suitable for the interpretation?
NI 43-101 treats exploration information broadly: it can include geological, geophysical and geochemical work, sampling, drilling, analytical testing, assays, mineralogical work and metallurgical information. It defines data verification as confirmation that data were generated using proper procedures, accurately transcribed and suitable for use. Look for the underlying methods and checks, not just reported grades.
What do exploration results, resources and reserves mean?
These are different stages of evidence and should not be treated as interchangeable labels for mineable material.
| Disclosure | What it tells you | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Exploration results | Reported geological, sampling, drilling or analytical evidence that may support further exploration. | They are not, by themselves, a mineral resource or reserve. |
| Mineral resource | An estimate of mineralization classified by geological confidence. The SEC guide describes inferred, indicated and measured resources in increasing order of confidence. | A resource is not automatically economically or legally mineable, and its categories are not quantities of proven mineable material. |
| Mineral reserve | The economically mineable part of a measured or indicated resource, supported by study work and application of relevant modifying factors. | It is not simply a higher-grade resource label; it depends on technical, economic, legal and other considerations. |
An inferred resource is the least certain resource category in the SEC guide’s sequence. The CRIRSCO-based definitions reproduced in a filed technical report describe it as relying on limited evidence and sampling and state that it must not be converted directly into a reserve. Do not assume that all—or any—of a resource will be upgraded or become economically and legally mineable.
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An exploration target is also not a resource. Treat target ranges and conceptual potential as hypotheses for further work, not as established resource quantities.
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Are the economic assumptions plausible and clearly disclosed?
For any study or resource estimate, identify the assumptions that shape its apparent economics. Compare like with like: studies of different dates or stages may use different prices, costs, mining methods and levels of engineering detail.
- Study type and effective date
- Commodity price and other market assumptions
- Cut-off grade and the costs or prices used to select it
- Mining method, processing route and recovery assumptions
- Capital and operating costs, taxes and royalties
- Sensitivity to adverse changes in material assumptions
The SEC guide says an initial assessment considers technical and economic factors, including a cut-off-grade estimate based on assumed costs and commodity prices; it also calls for the qualified person to disclose and explain the selected price and assumptions. A cut-off grade is an assumption-dependent threshold, not a promise that material above it will be profitable. Reserve determination requires applying modifying factors and study support for economic viability.
What could prevent the project from advancing?
Geological evidence is only one part of a project’s prospects. CRIRSCO-based definitions and SEC guidance identify factors that can affect whether a resource advances, including mining and processing, infrastructure, economic and market assumptions, legal title, environmental and social issues, government requirements and permits.
Technical and site constraints
Look for evidence about metallurgy and processing, water and power needs, access, infrastructure and the proposed mining method. A resource estimate does not resolve whether the mineralization can be recovered using a viable process or whether necessary infrastructure can be built or accessed.
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Legal, environmental and social conditions
Check land access, permitting status, environmental baseline work, community engagement and applicable government requirements. A report or company release may describe work underway, but the status and implications need to be checked against current project disclosures and jurisdictional records.
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Funding and execution capacity
Compare current cash and committed funding with the proposed exploration program, expected milestones and likely financing needs. Review planned work and the timing of expenditures alongside share issuance and other financing terms to understand possible dilution. There is no universal funding-runway threshold established by the cited technical rules; the relevant question is whether this issuer can fund the next material step while retaining its project interest.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How can you compare two junior mining projects?
Use the same questions for each project, while accounting for differences in stage and reporting regime. A project with more advanced study work is not automatically superior to an earlier-stage project, but its evidence and constraints should be described differently.
| Comparison axis | What to compare | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Evidence quality | Sampling and assay disclosure, verification, drill density and geological continuity | Shows how much confidence the interpretation deserves. |
| Stage and confidence | Exploration results, resource category and study stage | These describe different levels of geological confidence and economic support. |
| Economic assumptions | Commodity price, cut-off grade, recovery, costs and sensitivity | Different assumptions can change a project’s apparent economics. |
| Project constraints | Mining and processing requirements, infrastructure, legal, environmental, social and government factors | These can affect whether and how a project advances. |
| Company capacity | Property interest, obligations, cash, planned work and financing | The issuer needs to retain its rights and fund the work required to test its geological case. |
Keep reported facts separate from your interpretation. For example, a company may report an intercept; whether it supports continuity is an inference that depends on the surrounding drilling, geology and sampling evidence.
What is the practical order for a first-pass review?
- Confirm the asset: identify the property, jurisdiction, issuer interest and material obligations.
- Read the latest technical report: note its scope, reporting framework, authors and effective date.
- Reconcile newer disclosures: check whether later filings or releases materially change the report’s conclusions.
- Test the geological interpretation: examine continuity, drill geometry, sample methods, assays and verification.
- Classify the evidence correctly: separate exploration results, resource categories, reserves and exploration targets.
- Interrogate economics and constraints: review study stage, assumptions, processing, infrastructure, title, permits and environmental or social factors.
- Check the next milestone is fundable: compare current financing with proposed work and obligations, using current issuer disclosures.
The Canadian NI 43-101 instrument dated July 25, 2023, the SEC’s mining disclosure guide and its October 31, 2018 rule announcement, and the CRIRSCO-based definitions reproduced in a filed technical report provide useful regulatory and technical reference points. They do not establish the prospectivity or investment merit of any particular company. Company-specific conclusions depend on current disclosures and records.
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