The Canadian rule governing how mineral projects may be described in public, and the reason mining disclosure is as standardised as it is.
Canadian National Instrument 43-101 is a regulatory standard for public disclosure of scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects. It requires that all public disclosures be prepared by or under the supervision of a Qualified Person.
NI 43-101 exists because the sector has a long history of unverifiable claims. It requires technical information to be prepared or approved by a qualified person with defined credentials and personal accountability, which is what separates a resource estimate from a press release.
Technical reports are filed on SEDAR+ and are the primary source for any serious assessment — assumptions, cut-offs, recoveries and risks all live there rather than in the news release.
Historical resource estimates predating the standard, or foreign estimates not prepared to it, are frequently quoted with a disclaimer nobody reads. They are not directly comparable to compliant figures.