Until recently, most ‘reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction’ (RPEEE) assessments for Mineral Resource Estimates (MRE’s) were largely driven based on mining techno-economic assessments, with considerations around environment, social and governance (ESG) typically limited to cautionary wording, deferring commentary and investigation to future Project stages.

However, increased expectations from evolving mineral reporting codes, increased pressure from investors and government, and demands from other stakeholders for the mining industry to contribute to the energy transition in a responsible manner, exploration projects are now under pressure to demonstrate their commitment to integrating ESG considerations into project decision making.

This talk, through case study presentation, demonstrates an exploration project review methodology where there is positive commitment to embedding responsible practice at an early stage. In this example, ESG considerations were assessed with equal rigour alongside the more routinely considered technical and economic counterparts to determine whether RPEEE could be positively supported for future Mineral Resource reporting