The Technical Glossary, featured in the Global Finance Report 2022, is authored by leading global mining expert, SRK Consulting, with the primary authors being Dr Iestyn Humphreys and Jane Joughin. The glossary largely focuses on the acquisition of technical knowledge through the evolutionary development of mineral assets, specifically in the context of what is deemed appropriate for meeting expectations from the mining finance community.

Mineral asset development stages

Mineral assets comprise all property including, but not limited to, real property, intellectual property, mining and exploration tenements held or acquired in connection with the exploration of, the development of and the production from those tenements together with all plant, equipment and infrastructure owned or acquired for the development, extraction and processing of minerals in connection with those tenements.

Mineral asset classification

• Exploration property: properties where mineralisation may or may not have been identified, but where a mineral resource has not been identified.
• Advanced exploration property: properties where considerable exploration has been undertaken and specific targets have been identified that warrant further detailed evaluation, usually by drill testing, trenching or some other form of detailed geological sampling. A Mineral Resource estimate may or may not have been made, but sufficient work will have been undertaken on at least one prospect to provide both a good understanding of the type of mineralisation present and encouragement that further work will elevate one or more of the prospects to the resource category.
• Pre-development property: properties where Mineral Resources have been identified and their extent estimated (possibly incompletely) but where a decision to proceed with development has not been made. Properties at the early assessment stage, properties for which a decision has been made not to proceed with development, properties on care and maintenance and properties held on retention titles are included in this category if Mineral Resources have been identified, even if no further valuation, technical assessment, delineation or advanced exploration is being undertaken.
• Development property: properties for which a decision has been made to proceed with construction and/or production, but which are not yet commissioned or are not yet operating at design levels.
• Operating mines: mineral properties, particularly mines and processing plants that have been commissioned and are in production