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NI 43-101 explained

National Instrument 43-101 is the rule Canadian securities regulators apply to every scientific and technical statement a company makes about a mineral project. It is why TSX and TSX-V miners file long technical reports, and why every release names a Qualified Person.

What the rule covers

NI 43-101 applies to any scientific or technical disclosure about a mineral project by a company reporting in Canada: a news release with drill results, a website, a presentation, a resource estimate. The disclosure must be based on work by a Qualified Person, resources and reserves must use the CIM categories, and certain events require a full technical report.

The Qualified Person

Every release with technical content names its Qualified Person, says whether they are independent of the company, and says whether they verified the data. Independence matters for some reports: a first resource estimate, for example, generally needs an independent Qualified Person.

Finding your way around a technical report

Technical reports are long, but they follow the same 27 items of Form 43-101F1, so the useful parts are always in the same place:

Item	What you find there
1 Summary	The whole report in a few pages, including the resource table and key economics
4 to 6 Property, access, history	Tenure, location, who owned and drilled it before
7 to 8 Geology, deposit types	What kind of deposit it is
9 to 10 Exploration, drilling	How many holes, what type, and the main results
11 to 12 Sampling, data verification	Laboratories, quality control, and what the Qualified Person checked
13 Mineral processing	Metallurgical test work and recoveries
14 Mineral Resource estimates	Tonnes, grade and category, with the cut-off and method
15 to 22 Reserves to economic analysis	For advanced projects: mining, processing, infrastructure, costs, NPV and IRR
23 Adjacent properties	Neighbouring deposits, which cannot be used to imply anything about this one
25 to 26 Interpretation, recommendations	The authors' conclusions, risks and the proposed next budget

1Summary
2Introduction
3Reliance on other experts
4Property description and location
5Accessibility, climate, local resources, infrastructure and physiography
6History
7Geological setting and mineralization
8Deposit types
9Exploration
10Drilling
11Sample preparation, analyses and security
12Data verification
13Mineral processing and metallurgical testing
14Mineral resource estimates
15Mineral reserve estimates
16Mining methods
17Recovery methods
18Project infrastructure
19Market studies and contracts
20Environmental studies, permitting and social or community impact
21Capital and operating costs
22Economic analysis
23Adjacent properties
24Other relevant data and information
25Interpretation and conclusions
26Recommendations
27References

OverviewPropertyGeology and drillingData and metallurgyResourcesAdvanced projects onlyConclusions

The 27 items of Form 43-101F1, in order. Outlined items are the ones most readers turn to first: the summary, drilling, data verification, the resource estimate, the economics and the recommendations. Early-stage reports leave out items 15 to 22.

PEAs and historical estimates

A Preliminary Economic Assessment is an early study of potential economics. It may include Inferred resources, and it must carry a cautionary statement that it is preliminary and that resources that are not reserves have no demonstrated economic viability. Estimates made before a company's involvement, under older or other systems, can be mentioned as "historical estimates" only with a statement that a Qualified Person has not verified them as current.

NI 43-101 and JORC

The resource and reserve categories line up with the JORC Code, because CIM and JORC both follow the CRIRSCO template. Some companies listed in both Canada and Australia report under both. See resources and reserves for what each category means.

Questions

What is NI 43-101?

National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, a rule of the Canadian Securities Administrators. It governs how companies reporting in Canada disclose scientific and technical information about mineral projects, and requires resources and reserves to use the CIM Definition Standards.

What is a Qualified Person?

An engineer or geoscientist with at least five years of experience in mineral exploration, development or production relevant to the project, who is in good standing with a recognised professional association. Disclosure of scientific or technical information must be based on information prepared by or under the supervision of a Qualified Person.

When is an NI 43-101 technical report required?

Among other triggers, when a company first discloses Mineral Resources, Mineral Reserves or a Preliminary Economic Assessment for a material property, or a material change to them, and when it files certain documents such as a prospectus. Reports are filed on SEDAR+.

What is in an NI 43-101 technical report?

The report follows Form 43-101F1: 27 items from the summary, property, history and geology through drilling, sampling, data verification, metallurgy, resource and reserve estimates, mining, costs and economics, to interpretation, recommendations and references. Early-stage properties leave the development items out.

Sources

An explainer of how mining companies report their work, written from the public codes and rules linked above. It describes the documents and does not rate any company, project or result. Not investment advice.