The South African Mineral Reporting Codes (SAMCODES) are codified sets of standards and guidelines applicable to the South African Minerals and Petroleum Industries, drafted and overseen by the SAMCODES Standards Committee (SSC), a professional and non-governmental body.
Specifically, the standards and guidelines are applicable to public reports compiled on behalf of South African Minerals and Petroleum companies for the benefit of investors.
As such, the SSC acts in an advisory capacity to the JSE, ensuring that reports submitted for listings consideration are compliant with the SAMCODES.
[2] According to SSC standards, CPs are required to have at least five years of experience relevant to the style of mineralisation, the type of deposit and the activity that is being undertaken.
[3] Once further scientific and engineering investigation has been performed and it can be demonstrated that there are "reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction",[2] then a Mineral Resource Report can be published or declared.
The author lists possible reasons for non-compliance with the code, one being the fact that the viewing of reports are often subject to confidentiality agreements, and another being that practicing CPs are reluctant to make formal complaints against others for actions they may be guilty of themselves.
[9] While professional organisations, such as the GSSA and SAIMM, cannot be held legally liable for the negligence of their members, Rupprecht suggests they could offer coaching and mentoring around the reporting codes to their members so as to improve overall standards, rather than exacting punitive measures on them ("except in special cases where fraud or deception is deliberate").