The Annual General Meeting of the Committee on International Standards for Reporting Mineral Reserves (CRIRSCO) was held without the participation of representatives of the Russian Federation [which carried out a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, attacking our state on 24.02.2022]. NADRA.info news agency reports with reference to the Chairman of CRIRSCO Edson Ribeiro.
“Based on the principles of transparency, materiality, and competence, the CRIRSCO Standards are an international reference for public reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources, and Mineral Reserves adopted by countries and regulators to better inform and protect investors in the mining sector.”
The General Meeting of CRIRSCO this year was held from 17 to 20 October in Johannesburg (South Africa).
“The event was attended by representatives of 12 national reporting organizations (Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Europe, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Turkey, and the United States). Mongolia and Russia, the other two CRIRSCO members, were not represented this year,” said Edson Ribeiro.
The reasons for Russia’s non-participation in the CRIRSCO meeting are not reported. NADRA.info is preparing a request to the leadership of the Committee to find out the reasons, as well as to hear the current position of CRIRSCO on the Russian invasive war against Ukraine.
At this year’s general meeting the management of CRIRSCO for the next year was approved:
Edson Ribeiro (CBRR, Brazil) – Chairman
Ken Lomberg (SAMREC, South Africa) – former chairman
Garth Kirkham (CIM, Canada) – Vice-Chairman
Peter Stoker (JORC, Australia) – Treasurer
Wilfredo Lopez (CCRR, Colombia) – Secretary
The 2023 General Meeting is scheduled to be held in Brazil next October, when the Committee may be expanded with the approval of new members. The list of candidates undergoing the accession process includes China, the Philippines, Ecuador, Peru, Kyrgyzstan, and West Africa.
As a reminder, the National Association of Extractive Industries of Ukraine (NEIAU) asked to consider the issue of excluding the aggressor state of the Russian Federation from the Committee on International Standards for Reporting Mineral Reserves (CRIRSCO). The corresponding appeal was sent to Edson Ribeiro by NEIAU Executive Director Ksenia Orynchak in July. According to NADRA.info, only two CRIRSCO members responded to the letter: KAZRC Association (Kazakhstan Association for Public Reporting of Geological Exploration Results, Mineral Resources, and Mineral Reserves) and PERC (Pan-European Reserves and Resources Reporting Committee). Executive Director Saule Urazaeva said that KAZRC “does not deal with other issues” except for the implementation of CRIRSCO public reporting standards. PERC expressed hope “that the current conflict will be resolved before people living in the conflict zones, as well as those displaced as a result of the conflict, have to endure even more difficulties”. They also recalled the statement issued by the Pan-European Committee in March. Regarding the Russians’ usage of the benefits of CRIRSCO membership in the form of access to Western capital markets, PERC Chairman Edmund Sides noted that “in practice, this benefit has been closed by Western sanctions”. He stated: “PERC does not believe that the conflict in Ukraine is a reason to exclude or suspend OERN (Russian Society of Subsoil Use Experts) from CRIRSCO on the basis of CRIRSCO’s organizational charter”.
