Data are the basis of the mineral resource estimate. Qualified Persons (QPs) are required to confirm that the data are suitable for use in jurisdictional public reporting, requiring detailed discussions in the technical report on adequacy of the data supporting the estimate. Mineral resource classification can be materially affected by perceived issues in data quality. In some reporting jurisdictions such as S-K 1300, the QP or issuer is legally responsible for the data used in the estimate.
Data verification sections of technical reports often describe the process employed to generate and transcribe data. Actual comparison of source data against the data used for the resource estimate is ordinarily performed against 10% or less of the entire database. This resulting error rate is then assumed to be evenly distributed throughout the database. For many QPs, data verification is a manual procedure involving tedious review of original analytic certificates against corresponding sample IDs. It is often difficult to locate original certificates for all data.
Modern tools have transformed data verification in two ways:
Automation: Automated tools have made it possible for the complete library
of analytic certificates to be ingested into digital platforms. By comparing the entire database against all supplied certificates, it is possible to identify material gaps in the source data.
Commodification: These tools have simplified the process to the point that data engineering personnel without geoscientific experience can perform this work.
Without significant budgetary increase, modern data verification tools transform
the data verification section of a report from an opinion of the data quality extrapolated from a sample’s error rate to a quantitative description of the error rate of the entire population of data. This results in a more robust comparison and a resulting validation that can be relied upon at reduced risk of error.
QPs should consider making modern data verification methods the standard for their practice.
