How do the CRIRSCO/ECRR® standards relate to ANM oversight?

CRIRSCO is the international committee that defines the common template for reporting mineral resources and reserves, and ECRR® (the Estándar Colombiano para el Reporte Público de Resultados de Exploración, Recursos y Reservas Minerales, Colombia’s standard for public reporting of exploration results, mineral resources and reserves) is its local adaptation, managed by the Comisión Colombiana de Recursos y Reservas Minerales (CCRR®, the Colombian Mineral Resources and Reserves Commission). The relationship with oversight is direct and mandatory: Resolución 100 de 2020 of the ANM (Colombia’s National Mining Agency) requires mining titleholders to report their resources and reserves under ECRR® or another standard recognized by CRIRSCO, annually and with staggered deadlines according to the size of the mining operation.

What is CRIRSCO and what does it solve?

CRIRSCO (Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards) exists so that a resource reported in one country means the same as in another. It defines categories (inferred, indicated and measured resources; probable and proved reserves) and the conditions under which one can move from one to another.

Its underlying principle is simple: the declared level of confidence must match the density and quality of the information that supports it. A proved reserve is not declared with reconnaissance information.

What is ECRR® and who manages it?

ECRR® is the Colombian adaptation of that template. It is developed and maintained by the CCRR®, which has represented Colombia before CRIRSCO since 2018 (the ANM first adopted the CRIRSCO standards through Resolución 299 de 2018, and Resolución 100 de 2020 formalized the periodic reporting obligation under this framework). It keeps CRIRSCO’s logic of categories and of the competent person, and adds the link with the reporting obligations before the ANM: large-scale mining reporting since 2021, medium-scale mining since 2022, with deadlines also defined for the other segments.

What role does the competent person play?

The signature of a competent person is what turns a model into a valid report. That person takes professional responsibility for the declared classification, which means they will require evidence: sampling density, analytical quality control, validation of the geological model and (increasingly) topographic verification of the physical state of the deposit.

This is where the standard touches daily operations. A competent person does not sign off on information they cannot trace back to its origin.

How does it connect with ANM oversight?

Oversight reviews the consistency between three things: what is declared in resources and reserves, what is declared in the PTO (Programa de Trabajos y Obras, the mine plan filed with the ANM) and what actually happens on site. A CRIRSCO/ECRR®-type framework organizes the first piece and makes it comparable over time.

When the operation keeps periodic measurements of progress, the reconciliation between declared reserve, reported extraction and physically moved volume can be supported with data. When it does not, every discrepancy becomes a discussion without a referee.

What does an operation need to sustain the report?

• A versioned geological model, with traceability of the data that feeds it.
• A depletion record by period, measured and not estimated.
• Site surveys comparable with each other, with declared method and accuracy.
• Documentation of the economic assumptions and of the modifying factors used to convert resource into reserve.
• A history of classification changes, with the technical justification for each change.

Is complying with CRIRSCO/ECRR® the same as complying with the PTO?

No. The PTO describes how the operation will be carried out; the report under CRIRSCO/ECRR® describes what is in the deposit and with what confidence it is known. They draw on the same input (field data) but answer different questions before the authority. An operation with systematic data capture covers both fronts with the same effort.

Frequently asked questions

Is reporting under ECRR® mandatory in Colombia?

Yes. The ANM’s Resolución 100 de 2020 requires it for all mining titleholders, with staggered deadlines that have already started for large- and medium-scale mining.

Are ECRR® and the PTO the same thing?

No. The PTO is the technical plan for carrying out the operation. ECRR® is the framework for reporting how much mineral is in the deposit and with what level of confidence that figure is known.

To review how to structure the technical support for your reports, write to us at hello@bluberri.io.