The Pan-African Resource Reporting Code (PARC) is a standardized framework for public reporting of African mineral and energy resources. [1] Developed under the auspices of the African Minerals Development Centre (AMDC), PARC aims to enhance transparency, consistency, and competence in the certification and reporting processes within the African mining sector.
PARC was developed as part of the African Minerals and Energy Resources Classification and Management System (AMREC), a tool designed to implement the Africa Mining Vision (AMV). The AMV, adopted by African Heads of State in 2009, seeks to optimize the utilization of Africa's mineral resources for sustainable development. The policy document for AMREC/PARC was approved by the African Union's Special Technical Committee in September 2021 and was subsequently endorsed by the Executive Council in February 2022.
The primary objectives of PARC include:
PARC is governed by the AMDC, with oversight provided by a dedicated PARC Assessment Committee. This committee ensures adherence to the standards and principles outlined in the code. It is also responsible for accrediting Competent Persons (CPs) and Recognized Professional Organizations (RPOs) that meet PARC's stringent requirements.
PARC sets comprehensive guidelines for the public reporting of mineral and energy resources. PARC is based on the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC) and the United Nations Resource Management System (UNRMS). [2] Key aspects include:
The implementation of PARC involves:
Mining is the extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agricultural processes, or feasibly created artificially in a laboratory or factory. Ores recovered by mining include metals, coal, oil shale, gemstones, limestone, chalk, dimension stone, rock salt, potash, gravel, and clay. The ore must be a rock or mineral that contains valuable constituent, can be extracted or mined and sold for profit. Mining in a wider sense includes extraction of any non-renewable resource such as petroleum, natural gas, or even water.
Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. On Earth, it includes sunlight, atmosphere, water, land, all minerals along with all vegetation, and wildlife.
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe is one of the five regional commissions under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. It was established in order to promote economic cooperation and integration among its member states.
The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) is a mutually agreed instrument voluntarily acceded to by the member states of the African Union (AU) as a self-monitoring mechanism. It was founded in 2003.
There are several classification systems for the economic evaluation of mineral deposits worldwide. The most commonly used schemes base on the International Reporting Template, developed by the CRIRSCO - Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards, like the Australian Joint Ore Reserves Committee - JORC Code 2012, the Pan-European Reserves & Resources Reporting Committee' – PERC Reporting Standard from 2021, the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum - CIM classification and the South African Code for the Reporting of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (SAMREC). A more detailed description of the historical development concerning reporting about mineral deposits can be found on the PERC web site.
Recognition of prior learning (RPL), prior learning assessment (PLA), or prior learning assessment and recognition (PLAR) describes a process used by regulatory bodies, adult learning centres, career development practitioners, military organizations, human resources professionals, employers, training institutions, colleges and universities around the world to evaluate skills and knowledge acquired outside the classroom for the purpose of recognizing competence against a given set of standards, competencies, or learning outcomes. RPL is practiced in many countries for a variety of purposes, for example an individual's standing in a profession, trades qualifications, academic achievement, recruitment, performance management, career and succession planning.
National Instrument 43-101Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects is a securities regulatory instrument that governs how companies can disclose mining-related information in Canada. Its rules aim to prevent companies from sharing inaccurate or misleading information about their mineral assets with prospective investors and the public. It is overseen and enforced by the Canadian Securities Administrators.
ISO/TC 37 is a technical committee within the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that prepares standards and other documents concerning methodology and principles for terminology and language resources.
Nii Allotey Odunton, a mining engineer from Ghana, was the Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority, serving consecutive four-year terms starting in 2009 and ending in 2017.
The International Cyanide Management Code for the Manufacture, Transport and Use of Cyanide in the Production of Gold, commonly referred to as the Cyanide Code, is a voluntary program designed to assist the global gold and silver mining industries and the producers and transporters of cyanide used in gold and silver mining in improving cyanide management practices and to publicly demonstrate their compliance with the Cyanide Code through an independent and transparent process. The Cyanide Code is intended to reduce the potential exposure of workers and communities to harmful concentrations of cyanide‚ limit releases of cyanide to the environment‚ and enhance response actions in the event of an exposure or release.
A McKelvey diagram or McKelvey box is a visual representation used to describe a natural resource such as a mineral or fossil fuel, based on the geologic certainty of its presence and its economic potential for recovery. The diagram is used to estimate the uncertainty and risk associated with availability of a natural resource. As geological assurance of a resource's occurrence decreases, risk increases. As economic recoverability of a resource decreases, risk also increases.
The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) is an independent think tank founded in 1990 working to shape and inform international policy on sustainable development governance. The institute has three offices in Canada - Winnipeg, Ottawa, and Toronto, and one office in Geneva, Switzerland. It has over 150 staff and associates working in over 30 countries.
South Sudan is one of the African countries known as an important oil producer, whereas, South Sudan also has mineral resources like copper, gold, diamonds, limestone among others. Government is promoting investment particularly in exploration and also developing the mining projects in South Sudan.
Mineral resource estimation is used to determine and define the ore tonnage and grade of a geological deposit, from the developed block model. There are different estimation methods used for different scenarios dependent upon the ore boundaries, geological deposit geometry, grade variability and the amount of time and money available. A typical resource estimation involves the construction of a geological and resource model with data from various sources. Depending on the nature of the information and whether the data is hard copy or computerized, the principal steps of computer resource estimation are:
Water-related industry in Africa provides jobs and employment opportunities in many sectors, for example agriculture, fisheries, manufacturing and industry.
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.
United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC) is an international scheme for the classification, management and reporting of energy, mineral, and raw material resources. United Nations Economic Commission for Europe's (UNECE) Expert Group on Resource Management (EGRM) is responsible for the development promotion and further development of UNFC.
Oil and gas reserves denote discovered quantities of crude oil and natural gas that can be profitably produced/recovered from an approved development. Oil and gas reserves tied to approved operational plans filed on the day of reserves reporting are also sensitive to fluctuating global market pricing. The remaining resource estimates are likely sub-commercial and may still be under appraisal with the potential to be technically recoverable once commercially established. Natural gas is frequently associated with oil directly and gas reserves are commonly quoted in barrels of oil equivalent (BOE). Consequently, both oil and gas reserves, as well as resource estimates, follow the same reporting guidelines, and are referred to collectively hereinafter as oil & gas.
The PERCStandard for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves sets out the minimum standards, as well as additional guidelines and recommendations for the Public Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves within Europe.
The United Nations Resource Management System (UNRMS) is a voluntary global standard for managing natural resources sustainably. It is based on the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC). UNRMS aims to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by providing a comprehensive framework and methodology for resource progression, policy development, and financing.