Competent Persons
Definition of a Competent Person
Any Public Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves must be based on and fairly reflect documentation prepared by a Competent Person in accordance with the JORC Code. The company must obtain the prior written consent of the Competent Person to the form and context in which it reports the Competent Person’s work.
A Competent Person must be a Member or Fellow of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, or of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists, or of a ‘Recognised Professional Organisation’.
A Competent Person must have a minimum of five years’ experience working with the style of mineralisation or type of deposit under consideration and relevant to the activity which that person is undertaking.
For example:
- If the Competent Person is preparing a report on Exploration Results, the relevant experience must be in exploration.
- If the Competent Person is estimating, or supervising the estimation of Mineral Resources, the relevant experience must be in the estimation, assessment and evaluation of Mineral Resources.
- If the Competent Person is estimating, or supervising the estimation of Ore Reserves, the relevant experience must be in the estimation, assessment, evaluation and economic extraction of Ore Reserves.
For further information on the definition of a Competent Person please refer to Clause 11 of the JORC Code. Any individual proposing to work as a Competent Person must assess their ability to meet the Clause 11 requirements for each project they undertake.
The Library page of this website includes some useful articles that describe the role and obligations of Competent Persons.
Potential confusion between Competent Person and Chartered Professional
The AusIMM professional accreditation term 'Chartered Professional' and its commonly used abbreviation 'CP' should not be confused with 'Competent Person'. A Competent Person must spell out the term in full and cannot use the acronym 'CP'.
An AusIMM Chartered Professional undergoes an accreditation process through the AusIMM Chartered Professional Program while a Competent Person must meet a separate set of specific criteria in relation to the JORC code. The AusIMM Chartered Professional Program does not assess this.
To find out more about what constitutes a Chartered Professional, please visit the AusIMM website.
Competent Person's Consent Form
ASX Listing Rules 5.6, 5.22 and 5.24 and Clause 9 of the JORC Code 2012 Edition require that a Competent Person provide a written consent statement in particular circumstances. A form for use for this purpose is provided here:
International Reciprocity of Competent Persons
In 2003 The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) introduced a procedure for identifying ‘Recognised Professional Organisations’ as accredited organisations to which Competent Persons must belong for the purpose of preparing reports on Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves for submission to the ASX (if they are not members of the AusIMM or AIG).
The following are the current RPOs:
| Professional Organisation | Minimum membership class required |
| Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining | Member (MIMMM) or Fellow (FIMMM) |
| Geological Society of London | Chartered Geologist (CGeol), Chartered Scientist (CSci) or European Geologist (EurGeol) |
| Institute of Geologists of Ireland | Professional Geologist (Geo) |
| European Federation of Geologists | European Geologist (EurGeol) |
| Mining and Metallurgical Society of America | Qualified Professional (QP) |
| American Institute of Professional Geologists | Certified Professional Geologist (CPG) |
| Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration | SME Registered Member |
| Engineering Council of South Africa | Professional Engineer (Pr Eng) |
| South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions | Professional Natural Scientist (Pr.Sci.Nat.) |
| Geological Society of South Africa | Chartered Member or Chartered Fellow |
| The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy | Member or Fellow |
| South African Council for Professional and Technical Surveyors | Mine Surveyors and Professional Mine Surveyors |
| Professional Engineers Ontario | P.Eng. |
| Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia | P.Geo, or P.Eng, |
| Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Manitoba | P.Geo, or P.Eng, |
| Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario | P.Geo., P.Geo.(limited), P.Geo.(Temporary) |
| Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Newfoundland and Labrador | P.Eng., P.Geo. |
| Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of the Northwest Territories | P.Eng, P.Geo (or P.Geol., P.Geoph.) |
| Association of Professional Geoscientists of Nova Scotia | P.Geo. |
| Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of New Brunswick | P.Geo., P.Eng. |
| Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta. | P.Eng., P.Geo., P.Geoph. |
| Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan | P.Geo. or P.Eng. |
| Ordre des Geologues du Québec | P.Geo., géo. |
| Ordre des Ingénieurs du Québec | Eng. or ing. |
| Comisión Calificadora de Competencias en Recursos y Reservas Mineras (Chilean Mining Commission or Comisión Minera) | Registered Member |
| Russian Society of Subsoil Use Experts (OERN) | Expert |
* The reserved abbreviations for engineers in Quebec are ‘’Eng.’’ and ‘’ing.’’, alone or qualified, such as ‘’P.Eng.’’ and ‘’ing. géo’’ when they practice in the geological field.”
Table correct as at 15 February 2023
A Recognised Professional Organisation must:
- be a self-regulatory organisation covering professionals in the mining and/or exploration industry;
- admit members primarily on the basis of their academic qualifications and professional experience;
- require compliance with the professional standards of competence and ethics established by the organisation anywhere in the World (not just within the home jurisdiction of the organisation); and
- have disciplinary powers, including the power to suspend or expel a member for breaches of professional standards of competence or ethics anywhere in the World.
It is envisaged that further applications will be received from professional organisations seeking to become a RPO. Upon receipt of an application, the application will be considered by the ROPO task force made up of representatives of JORC and its parent bodies. The task force then makes a recommendation to the JORC Committee and its parent bodies (The AusIMM, AIG and MCA) before making a recommendation to the ASX regarding any addition to the RPOs list.
The RPO process applies in respect of reports prepared under the JORC Code. It does not address the issue of companies wishing to report to the ASX under reporting standards other than the JORC Code as provided for in ASX Listing Rules 5.10 to 5.12 other than the Competent Person’s statement required under Listing Rule 5.12.10.
Any members of a RPO wishing to act as a Competent Person must also be able to satisfy the other JORC Code requirements for a Competent Person.
As part of the agreement to establish the RPO system, the ASX required that RPOs should not only be capable of dealing with ethical complaints made in respect of Competent Persons and the JORC Code, but that they are seen to be actively implementing this capability if any such complaints are made. Therefore each RPO has an obligation that if one of its members, acting as a Competent Person under the JORC Code, is reported to the RPO for alleged non-compliance with the JORC Code, and the RPO's investigations uphold the alleged non-compliance, this finding should be communicated to the Chair of JORC when requested annually.
The ASX statement can be read at the ASX web site.