Mining valuation guides

Where to start

New to the sector? Read the methodology guide first to see how inputs flow into results, then the resources versus reserves guide, because the category of a resource changes how much weight it deserves.

Already comfortable with the basics? The AISC and risked NAV guides cover the two places where analysts most often make errors: double counting costs and presenting an unrisked project value as if it were certain.

All guides

• How OreScore approaches mining valuation

  This guide explains the order of work in the calculator and the limits of each step, so you know which outputs are quick screens and which depend on assumptions you must defend.

• How to value a junior mining company

  Juniors usually have no revenue, so earnings multiples do not work. Value comes from the ground, the people and the money in the bank, and each of those can be examined in turn.

• What is all-in sustaining cost (AISC)?

  AISC is a non-standardised cost measure that tries to show what it takes to keep a mine running at its current scale. Understanding what it contains stops you from counting the same spending twice.

• Mineral resources versus mineral reserves

  The two words sound alike and are treated very differently. A reserve has been shown to be economic. A resource has only been shown to exist in a form with reasonable prospects of eventual extraction.

• What is risked NAV?

  Net asset value discounts a mine plan's future cash flows to today. Risked NAV goes a step further and reduces that figure for the chance things do not go to plan.

• Mining valuation glossary

  Short definitions for the terms used across the calculator and guides.