Mining & Exploration — Reserve Estimate Validator

Mining Natural Resources Compliance NI 43-101 JORC Code Canada Australia South Africa

Overview

The Reserve Estimate Validator skill guides Rakenne users through the elaboration and compliance validation of mineral resource and reserve technical reports under NI 43-101 (CSA, Canada) and the JORC Code (ASX, Australia / South Africa). It covers the full disclosure workflow: structuring reports against Form 43-101F1 or the JORC Table 1 checklist, drafting Qualified Person (QP) and Competent Person (CP) certificates, properly classifying resource categories (Measured, Indicated, Inferred), adding required cautionary language, and running automated compliance checks before filing. The skill includes reference documentation for both standards, report templates, and two validation tools.

Getting Started

Add your source materials to the project workspace — geological data, drill results, resource estimates, and QP/CP credentials — then activate the Reserve Estimate Validator skill. The agent will determine the applicable standard (NI 43-101 for TSX/TSXV, JORC for ASX, or both for dual-listed issuers), apply the appropriate template, and guide you through each section. Validation tools can be run at any stage to catch compliance issues early.

Example Conversation

Below is an example of how a typical session might unfold when drafting an NI 43-101 technical report. The agent collects project context, applies the report template, and runs compliance validation.

You: I need to prepare an NI 43-101 technical report for the Maple Creek gold project. We’re filing on the TSXV. The QP is Dr. Sarah Chen, P.Geo., registered with EGBC (Member #34521). She visited the site on January 15, 2026. We have a resource estimate: 2.4 Mt Measured at 3.1 g/t Au, 5.8 Mt Indicated at 2.4 g/t Au, and 3.2 Mt Inferred at 1.8 g/t Au, at a 0.5 g/t cut-off.
Agent: I’ll set up the report using the NI 43-101 template (Form 43-101F1, all 27 items). A few questions before we begin:
Is this an advanced property report? (i.e., does it include reserve estimates, a PEA, PFS, or FS?) If so, Items 15–22 are also required.
Is Dr. Chen the sole QP, or are there additional QPs responsible for specific sections?
Is Dr. Chen independent of the issuer as defined in Section 1.5 of NI 43-101?
You: It’s a PEA-level report. Dr. Chen is the sole QP and she is independent — no material relationship with the issuer.
Agent: Since this is a PEA, all 27 items are required, and we must include the mandatory cautionary language for PEA disclosures (Inferred Resources are too speculative to be categorized as reserves, no certainty the PEA will be realized).
I’ve created the report from the template with:
Resource table: Measured 2.4 Mt @ 3.1 g/t (240 koz), Indicated 5.8 Mt @ 2.4 g/t (448 koz), Inferred 3.2 Mt @ 1.8 g/t (185 koz) — each category listed separately
Cut-off grade: 0.5 g/t Au
QP Certificate: Dr. Sarah Chen, P.Geo., EGBC #34521, independent, site visit Jan 15 2026
PEA cautionary language: Inserted in the Economic Analysis section and Summary
I ran reserve_estimate_validator on the draft:
✓ All 27 Form items present
✓ QP certificate appendix found
✓ Resource categories reported separately (no Inferred conflation)
✓ PEA cautionary language detected
⚠ 12 placeholders remaining (geological description, drilling details, metallurgical testing)
⚠ RPEEE justification section needs completion
I also ran qp_certificate_checker:
✓ QP name, P.Geo. designation, EGBC membership present
✓ Independence disclosure: independent
✓ Site visit: January 15, 2026
✓ 5+ years experience stated
✓ Sections of responsibility: Items 1–27
✓ Consent to filing present
The draft is in docs/maple_creek_ni43101.md. Want me to fill in the geological setting and drilling sections next?

Excerpt from a Generated Report

Below is a representative excerpt from an NI 43-101 technical report produced with the skill.

NI 43-101 Technical Report — Maple Creek Gold Project (Excerpt)

Prepared for: Maple Creek Resources Inc. Effective Date: 2026-02-01 Qualified Person: Dr. Sarah Chen, P.Geo., EGBC #34521

Item 14 — Mineral Resource Estimates

The mineral resource estimate for the Maple Creek Gold Project was prepared using ordinary kriging (OK) within geologically constrained wireframe domains. Block dimensions are 10 m × 10 m × 5 m, consistent with planned drill spacing and mining selectivity.

Resource Statement (effective February 1, 2026)

Category	Tonnage (Mt)	Grade (g/t Au)	Contained Au (koz)	Cut-off (g/t)
Measured	2.4	3.1	240	0.5
Indicated	5.8	2.4	448	0.5
Measured + Indicated	8.2	2.6	688	0.5
Inferred	3.2	1.8	185	0.5

Notes:

Mineral resources are reported at a cut-off grade of 0.5 g/t Au.
Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
Bulk density of 2.65 t/m³ applied based on 142 density measurements.
Reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction are supported by assumed open-pit mining at strip ratio ≤ 8:1, 92% metallurgical recovery (CIL), and a gold price of USD 1,900/oz.
Totals may not add due to rounding.

Cautionary Note — Preliminary Economic Assessment: The preliminary economic assessment is preliminary in nature. It includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the preliminary economic assessment will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

This excerpt is illustrative only. Final content must reflect actual project data and be reviewed by the Qualified Person.

Validations Performed by the Tools

The skill includes two automated validation tools that check regulatory compliance of a technical report in markdown format. Below is a summary of what each tool validates and how to interpret results.

Tool 1: `reserve_estimate_validator`

Scans the full report for structural and classification compliance.

Check	Description
NI 43-101 Section Completeness	Verifies all 27 Form 43-101F1 items are present. Items 1–14 and 23–27 are always required; Items 15–22 are required if reserves, PEA, PFS, or FS are claimed. Reports ERROR for missing required sections.
JORC Table 1 Completeness	Verifies Sections 1–4 of Table 1 are addressed. Reports WARNING for missing sections.
QP/CP Statement Presence	Checks for “Qualified Person” (NI) and/or “Competent Person” (JORC) references, professional designations, and association references.
Resource Classification Integrity	Detects improper aggregation of Inferred with Measured+Indicated, use of “ore” for Resources, and Inferred in economic analysis contexts (allowed only in PEA). Reports ERROR for classification violations.
Cautionary Language	Checks for required cautionary language on PEA disclosures, historical estimates, and exploration targets. Reports ERROR if PEA language is missing.
Numerical Consistency	Flags missing cut-off grades, absent RPEEE justification, and missing resource/reserve summary tables.
Document Completeness	Detects unfilled placeholders (`[TODO]`, `...`, `{}`) and reports count.

Tool 2: `qp_certificate_checker`

Validates the QP/CP certificate against all required elements.

Check	Description
NI 43-101 Certificate Elements	Verifies: QP name, professional designation, association membership, education/degree, ≥5 years experience, NI 43-101 compliance statement, sections of responsibility, site visit, independence disclosure, effective date, signature block, and consent to filing. Reports ERROR for each missing required element.
JORC Consent Statement	Verifies: CP name and membership, role/scope, review and approval statement, prior written consent, experience statement, and date.
Professional Designation Matching	Cross-references designations (P.Geo., P.Eng., MAusIMM, Pr.Sci.Nat., etc.) against known professional organisations (EGBC, AusIMM, SAIMM, SACNASP, etc.) and reports the matched organisation and country.
Membership Number	Detects membership/license numbers in the certificate text. Reports WARNING if none found.

Interpreting Results

RESULT: PASS — No compliance issues detected. The report can proceed to final QP review.
RESULT: WARNING(s) — Items that merit attention but are not hard compliance violations (incomplete sections, missing membership numbers, placeholders).
RESULT: ERROR(s) — Compliance violations found. Must be corrected before filing.

The tools do not replace review by a Qualified Person or Competent Person: they provide automated pre-screening for structural completeness and classification integrity. Final compliance with NI 43-101, JORC Code, and applicable securities regulations must be validated by the responsible professional.