The JORC Code is the Australasian code that sets the minimum standards for public reporting of exploration results, mineral resources and ore reserves. Its full name is the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves, and it is produced by the Joint Ore Reserves Committee. If a company listed in Australia or New Zealand publishes a drill result, a resource or a reserve, the JORC Code decides which words it may use, who must sign off, and what supporting detail must appear.

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This guide works from primary sources: the JORC Code 2012 edition, the Committee’s own pages on its history and review, and the ASX documents that make it mandatory. The 2012 edition is still the one in force as we write, and the section on the update explains what is known about its replacement and where to check for news.

“The JORC Committee was established in 1971; the first JORC Code followed in 1989.”

What is the JORC Code? Meaning, history and who is bound by it

In plain terms, the JORC meaning is “the rulebook for telling investors about minerals”. The JORC Code is a professional code of practice, not a statute. It becomes binding through the listing rules of the Australian Securities Exchange and NZX, which, according to the Committee’s history page, have built it into their rules since 1989 and 1992 respectively. That is why compliance is mandatory for listed public companies in both countries.

The Joint Ore Reserves Committee was established in 1971. It has three parent bodies, the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), the Australian Institute of Geoscientists (AIG) and the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA). Its membership also includes representatives of the ASX, the Financial Services Institute of Australasia and the accounting profession, with the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies as an observer.

Which edition is current, and what came before

The first edition was published in 1989. Revised editions followed in 1992, 1996, 1999 and 2004, and the 2012 edition superseded all of them. After a transition period, the JORC Code 2012 came into mandatory operation on 1 December 2013. People also search for a 2021 or 2022 edition, but no such edition exists: the 2012 code is still current, and the review described later in this guide has not yet produced a replacement in force.

For ASX-listed companies the code sits alongside Chapter 5 of the ASX Listing Rules and ASX Guidance Note 31, which the Committee’s site points Competent Persons to directly. In other jurisdictions that use JORC-style reporting, the local regulator’s rules apply as well.

The JORC standard: transparency, materiality and competence

Clause 4 names three principles that govern how the JORC Code is applied. Questions about whether a report complies usually come back to one of them.

• ✔ Transparency: the reader must get enough information, presented clearly and unambiguously, to understand the report and not be misled, including by leaving out material information the Competent Person knows about.
• Materiality: the report must contain all the relevant information investors and their advisers would reasonably require and expect, to make a reasoned and balanced judgement. Where something is left out, the report must explain why.
• Competence: the report must be based on work that is the responsibility of suitably qualified and experienced people who are subject to an enforceable professional code of ethics.

The code adds a line that experienced reviewers quote often: the Competent Person “must not remain silent on any material aspect for which the presence or absence of comment could affect the public perception or value of the mineral occurrence.” That single sentence is the reason JORC reports read the way they do, with long lists of caveats and a checklist appendix.

What “balanced reporting” rules out

Clause 19 applies the principles to exploration results. It says reporting isolated assays, isolated drill holes, assays of panned concentrates or supergene-enriched soils or surface samples “without placing them in perspective is unacceptable.” A company can choose not to report every hole, but it must give enough information about the omitted data for the reader to judge the whole picture. Our guide to exploration drilling methods and hole planning covers how those holes are drilled.

JORC classification: from exploration results to ore reserves

JORC classification rests on one diagram, Figure 1 of the code. Exploration results sit at the bottom. As geological knowledge and confidence increase, material can be estimated as an Inferred, Indicated or Measured Mineral Resource. Our step-by-step guide to mineral resource estimation shows how each category is built. Applying the Modifying Factors (mining, processing, metallurgical, infrastructure, economic, marketing, legal, environmental, social and government) turns Indicated and Measured resources into Probable and Proved Ore Reserves.

RPEEE in JORC: the test every resource must pass

Clause 20 requires every Mineral Resource, whatever its category, to have “reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction”, which the code glosses as “more likely than not”. This RPEEE test is why a resource is “not an inventory of all mineralisation drilled or sampled”. Material that fails it must be left out, and the Competent Person must disclose the basis for the assumption, including the technical and economic support for the cut-off. The provisional new code lists clearer guidance on reasonable prospects among its main changes.

The JORC reserve, and words that are off limits

A JORC reserve, formally an Ore Reserve, is “the economically mineable part of a Measured and/or Indicated Mineral Resource”, including dilution and allowances for losses, and it must rest on at least a pre-feasibility study. Clause 28 forbids using the words “ore” and “reserves” for resource estimates. And the code says reserves must not be added to resources in tables or graphs, because the total “is misleading”. For the classical estimation methods behind reserve figures, see our guide to polygon, triangle and cross-section ore reserve estimation.

Exploration Targets: ranges, never headlines

Clause 17 allows a company to talk about target size before it has a resource, under tight conditions. The potential quantity and grade must both be ranges. The first mention must carry a statement, in the same paragraph, that the figures are conceptual, that there has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource and that further exploration may not produce one. The target must not be a headline, the exploration planned to test it must be described with a timeframe, and a Competent Person must take responsibility for its form and context.

The competent person JORC relies on

Every JORC public report of exploration results, resources or reserves must be based on, and fairly reflect, documentation prepared by a Competent Person. The Committee’s Competent Persons page and Clause 11 set out who qualifies.

1. Membership: a Member or Fellow of the AusIMM, the AIG, or a Recognised Professional Organisation (RPO) on the list kept on the JORC and ASX websites. These bodies must have enforceable disciplinary processes, including powers to suspend or expel.
2. Five years of relevant experience in the style of mineralisation or type of deposit, and in the activity being undertaken.
3. The right kind of experience: exploration for exploration results; estimation, assessment and evaluation for resources; and economic extraction as well for reserves.

The code stresses that “relevant” is the key word, and it asks each person to be satisfied that they could face their peers and demonstrate competence in the commodity, deposit type and situation. The Committee’s page adds a practical rule: the term Competent Person must be spelled out in full and not abbreviated, because the AusIMM uses the same initials for its separate Chartered Professional accreditation.

Consent, employment and conflicts

Under Clause 9, the company must name the Competent Person, state whether they are a full-time employee and, if not, name their employer. Potential conflicts of interest must be disclosed. The report must be issued with the Competent Person’s prior written consent to the form and context in which their work appears; the Committee’s page notes that ASX Listing Rules 5.6, 5.22 and 5.24 also require that consent statement. The code supplies a consent form in Appendix 2 for the purpose.

JORC consultants

Many juniors hire an external consultant to act as the JORC code competent person, especially for a first resource. Our guide to gold exploration companies, juniors and majors compares the two. Independence is not required by the code itself, but it must be disclosed either way, and an outside Competent Person with the right deposit experience often carries more weight with investors.

What goes into a JORC report: Table 1, cost and compliance

A JORC report is any public report on exploration results, resources or reserves: a market announcement, an annual report, a presentation or a website page. What makes it compliant is the supporting detail, and the code’s Table 1 is the checklist for that detail. It has five sections and, by our count of the 2012 edition, 64 criteria.

For significant projects, Clause 19 requires the criteria in sections 1 and 2 to be reported on an “if not, why not” basis, preferably as an appendix. Section 3 covers matters such as database integrity, site visits, geological interpretation, estimation technique, cut-off, bulk density and classification. Section 4 adds the study status, mining and metallurgical factors, costs, revenue, market, economic and social criteria, which is where ESG matters already enter the 2012 code.

Competent persons report mining teams ask for

People often ask for a “competent persons report” when a project changes hands or lists. In mining the phrase usually means a full technical report prepared and signed by a Competent Person, rather than a short market announcement. What such a report must contain depends on the exchange and the transaction; for ASX listings, check the Listing Rules and the guidance notes before scoping one.

What drives JORC report cost

There is no public price list for a JORC report, and we will not invent one. The cost depends on the work behind it rather than the document itself. A first JORC report cost is driven mainly by these items:

• Stage: reporting exploration results is far smaller work than a resource estimate, and an Ore Reserve needs a pre-feasibility or feasibility study behind it.
• Data condition: a clean, validated database with QA/QC is quick to review; a legacy database needs verification, twin holes or re-assays.
• Site visit and logistics for the Competent Person.
• Geological complexity: number of domains, structural controls, nugget effect.
• ⚠ Rework: gaps in sampling or QA/QC discovered late are the most expensive surprises. Ask consultants for written quotes and scope.

JORC compliance and JORC-compliant mining studies

JORC compliance for an ASX company means following the code together with Chapter 5 of the ASX Listing Rules and ASX Guidance Note 31. Clauses 37 to 40 define the study levels. A Scoping Study is an order-of-magnitude study and “must not be used as the basis for estimation of Ore Reserves”. A Pre-Feasibility Study is a comprehensive study of a range of options, at a stage where the preferred mining method or pit configuration and an effective processing method have been established. A Feasibility Study has a higher level of confidence, and its results may reasonably serve as the basis for a final decision to proceed with, or finance, development. JORC-compliant mining studies use these terms only when the work meets the definitions, and our feasibility study guide walks through what each stage involves.

How to read a JORC report in an ASX announcement

Most people meet a JORC report as a market announcement. A quick way to judge one is to check the same few items every time.

1. What is being reported. Exploration Results, an Exploration Target, a Mineral Resource or an Ore Reserve. Each has different rules, and only the last two carry tonnage and grade as estimates.
2. The category split. For a resource, look for tonnes and grade broken into Measured, Indicated and Inferred. A large Inferred share means lower confidence, and Inferred material cannot become a reserve.
3. The cut-off grade. It should be stated, with the reason it meets the reasonable-prospects test.
4. The Competent Person statement. A name, the professional body, whether they are an employee, and their written consent.
5. Table 1. Sections 1 and 2 at least, answered on an “if not, why not” basis. Thin or missing answers on sampling and QA/QC are a warning sign.
6. Balance. A full drill-hole table and a collar plan, not only the best intercept.
7. No mixing. Reserves should not be added to resources, and an Exploration Target should appear as a range with its cautionary statement in the same paragraph.

If any of these is missing, the announcement may still be legitimate, but it deserves closer reading.

Mining JORC reporting around the world

The JORC Code has shaped reporting well beyond Australasia. It is a founding member of CRIRSCO, the Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards. CRIRSCO’s member list shows five national reporting organisations joining in 1994, including JORC for Australasia and CIM for Canada, and 16 listed by 2025 (CRIRSCO members page), though CRIRSCO has since reported removing Mongolia’s MPIGM from membership. Codes built on the same template include Canada’s CIM Definition Standards used under NI 43 101, South Africa’s SAMREC and Europe’s PERC.

The Canadian securities regulators, in a 2025 notice, described CRIRSCO as representing more than 85% of global jurisdictions with mineral project reporting standards. In practice, a geologist trained on JORC can read a report from Toronto or Johannesburg with little difficulty. The real differences between JORC and NI 43 101 are legal: Canada’s rule is securities law with a Qualified Person and a formal technical report, while JORC is a professional code enforced through exchange listing rules. JORC’s Appendix 1 even lists “Qualified Person (Canada)” as a synonym for Competent Person. Our guide to NI 43-101 rules and Qualified Persons covers the Canadian side.

For readers raising money on a JORC resource, our guide to finding mining investors covers what they will ask for next.

The JORC Code update: where the review stands

The review of the 2012 edition has been long and public. According to the Committee’s code update page, the draft code was released on 1 August 2024 for a three-month consultation that closed on 31 October 2024, and drew over 8,200 comments across the draft code, Table 1 and guidance notes. A summary of feedback and changes followed in September 2025.

1. June 2025: an updated 2025 draft went to the ASX, ASIC and the parent bodies.
2. December 2025: a comprehensive legal review was under way, with the aim of finalising the draft with the ASX, ASIC and CRIRSCO in the first quarter of 2026.
3. March 2026: the legal review had “significantly advanced”, and the provisional JORC Code 2026 was being finalised for the final review by CRIRSCO, the ASX, ASIC and the parent bodies. “CV of Record” had been renamed “Record of Relevant Experience (RoRE)”, subject to a privacy legal review.
4. 20 August 2026: the Committee presented a further update in a public webinar, with the recording on the update page.

The Committee says that once the code is final there will be a mandatory ASX consultation on listing-rule changes, and that, as with the 2012 code, the new edition will start after an agreed transition period. Its FAQ lists what drove the length of the review: new clauses on Competent Persons, reasonable prospects, risk, reconciliation and ESG, plus a new structure separating the code from its guidelines and a reformatted Table 1. Until the Committee announces a commencement date, the JORC Code 2012 remains the edition to report under.

Where satellite exploration fits in JORC reporting

The JORC Code lists geochemical and geophysical survey results among its examples of exploration results, and it does not restrict which exploration technologies a company may use. That leaves room for satellite analysis at the very start, before there is any drilling to report. Our satellite-based mineral detection analyses multispectral and hyperspectral imagery to flag likely mineralised target zones, alteration halos and structures across a licence, with no ground disturbance.

• ✔ Input: coordinates, KML/KMZ or a polygon, plus country and target mineral.
• Output: prospectivity heatmaps, high-potential zones with estimated location and depth ranges, indicative quantity, geological interpretation, and PDF plus georeferenced GIS files in 5 to 20 business days.
• Premium+: TargetMax™ drilling intelligence and interactive 3D subsurface models; see the satellite-driven 3D mineral prospectivity mapping overview.
• Economics: up to 80 to 85% lower early-exploration cost and timelines cut from months to days, compared with starting on the ground.
• ⚠ Not a JORC report: our deliverables describe exploration targets in the everyday sense. Any quantity in them is conceptual. They are not JORC Mineral Resources, Ore Reserves or public reports, and no Competent Person signs them. A listed company that wants to mention our results publicly must have its Competent Person review and take responsibility for them first, and any potential quantity must meet the Clause 17 rules.

Start by drawing your licence on mining.farmonaut.com (Map Your Mining Site) or request a quote through the mining query form. The mineral exploration guide shows how targeting, drilling and JORC reporting fit together, and the geophysics guide covers the ground surveys that often come next. We have scanned 100,000+ hectares for 20+ mineral types across 25+ countries.

Guides in this series

Three guides go deeper on the estimates that the JORC Code governs.

• Ore reserve estimation methods: how the polygon, triangle and cross-section methods work, with worked examples.
• Mineral resource estimation, step by step: from drill data to Inferred, Indicated and Measured.
• NI 43-101 rules: Qualified Person duties, resource disclosure and the technical report in Canada.

Frequently asked questions

Reviewed September 2026 against the JORC Code 2012 edition, the JORC Committee’s development, Competent Persons and code update pages at jorc.org, ASX Listing Rules Chapter 5 and Guidance Note 31, and CRIRSCO’s member list.

The JORC Code is under review; check jorc.org for the edition in force and any commencement date before reporting. This guide is general information, not legal or investment advice. Satellite targets are exploration targets, not mineral resources or ore reserves.