The BC Securities Commission has issued a new report aimed at improving the public reporting by publicly traded B.C. mining companies.
Publicly traded mining companies are guided in their public reporting by the Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Since September 2012, the BCSC has reviewed 82 publicly traded mining companies and found 34 had made faulty disclosures, resulting in their being placed on the defaulting issuers list.
The BCSC’s 2012 Mining Report found the following common reporting errors:
- failing to file current or fully compliant technical reports;
- failing to include the required cautionary statements for preliminary economic assessments (PEA), historical estimates, and exploration targets;
- disclosures of mineral resources and mineral reserves that don’t comply with National Instrument 43‐101 (Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects); and
- restricted or misleading references to mining studies.
“High-quality mining disclosure is critical to maintaining British Columbia's position as an international leader in mineral exploration,” said Peter Brady, director of corporate finance for the BCSC.
“By avoiding common pitfalls identified in the report, issuers may be able to avoid costly and time-consuming mining disclosure reviews, which is critical at a time when mining company resources are under strain.”
