An ESG shake-up is coming for the crucial JORC mining code

afr.com:

Mining companies will need to disclose more information about the potential for environmental issues or native title disputes to affect future development of mineral discoveries, under proposed changes to the guidelines that underpin Australia’s biggest export industry.

An increased focus on environment, sustainability and governance is expected to be the most notable change to the JORC Code when draft changes are published following the first review of the code in 11 years.

The JORC Code underpins minerals exploration in Australia and was first published in 1989. Joe Armao

The origins of the code go back to the nickel boom of the early 1970s, when a proliferation of dubious discovery claims prompted market regulators and the mining industry to develop a scientifically robust, common system for reporting the size and nature of mineral deposits.

The code – named after the Joint Ore Reserves Committee that governs it – is pivotal for the credibility of the ASX, given that close to 34 per cent of companies listed on the bourse are pre-revenue mineral or petroleum explorers, whose shares trade on market perceptions of the size and economic potential of their mineral deposits.

While much of the JORC code is focused on geoscience, the current version also requires proponents to consider more qualitative factors like the availability of government approvals or community support for mineral extraction under a section of the code called “modifying factors”.

The “modifying factors” section of the code is facing the most change under the current review, with ESG disclosure requirements to be dramatically beefed up. Sources said the governing committee wanted to be sure that mining and exploration companies were telling investors