Mining & Metals Research: Reporting Codes, Data, Journals and Societies

Mining and metals research runs from the discovery of a deposit to the metal that leaves a refinery, and from there to the closed mine. Work in the field is reported and audited against a small set of shared rules, so a researcher or research administrator needs to know them before anything else. Resource and reserve estimates are disclosed under CRIRSCO-aligned codes: the JORC Code in Australasia, which is built into the listing rules of the Australian and New Zealand stock exchanges, and National Instrument 43-101 in Canada, which requires a qualified person to vouch for technical reports and bars inferred resources from economic analyses.

The evidence base is a mix of public geoscience and government statistics. The USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries gives annual data sheets for over 90 minerals and materials. Mindat holds mineral and locality records, and EarthChem hosts geochemical and petrological data funded by the US National Science Foundation. The IEA Global Critical Minerals Outlook and its Data Explorer carry demand projections for 37 critical minerals.

Peer-reviewed work is published in Economic Geology, Mineralium Deposita and SME's Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration, among others, and is organised through the Society of Economic Geologists, SME, CIM and AusIMM. Safety research and regulation run through the US Mine Safety and Health Administration and the NIOSH mining research programme. Industry governance and transparency run through ICMM and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.

The specialisations listed below cover exploration, mine operations, mineral processing, extractive metallurgy, mine health and safety, tailings and reclamation, and critical minerals supply chains. Each has its own databases, instruments and reporting duties.