A former senior Mount Isa Mines manager has told the current crop of mining engineers to respect their code of ethics when asked to provide a competency statement.
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Ian Goddard was the keynote speaker at the annual AusIMM North West Queensland sixth annual regional conference in Cloncurry on Friday and as he walked the profession's code of ethics he said it should be "self-evident" that professionals should be compliant with rules and regulations.
"But most of the complaints about unprofessional behaviour has related from this clause especially as it relates to the JORC code," Mr Goddard said.
"I was on the ethics committee for 16 years and have been on JORC for 13 years, and most arise because of ignorance of the requirements or the interpretation."
Mr Goddard warned that where the intention was to circumvent the clauses the penalties can be harsher even leading to expulsion.
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He JORC stood for the Joint Ore Reserves Committee, run by AusIMM, Australian Geoscientists and the Minerals Council of Australia and was observed by the stock exchanges when companies report on their exploration findings.
"It is a principle-based code for the public reporting of exploration results of minerals and oil reserves," he said.
"The principles it is based on are transparency, materiality and competence.
"What's not there is as important as what is there. Don't hide the bad news, If not, why not, tell the ASX."
Don't hide the bad news, If not, why not, tell the ASX
- Ian Goddard
Mr Goddard also reflected on his life in mining, most of that time with Mount Isa Mines in various capacities.
Mr Goddard joined Mount Isa Mines after graduating in 1968 and he was the MC at the recent book launch of the "The 69ers: Half a Century On" in which he was one of 35 people to write a submission.
"The idea was to write a book with three components, why you came to Mount Isa, what happened in your life since there, and what you got out of the Mount Isa experience," he said.
"It was a great place to work, full of challenges and advancements and in my first year there I met my future wife who was a teacher at the high school and both of our children were born at Mount Isa Base Hospital."
Mr Goddard moved to Collinsville in 1981 when Mount Isa Mines expanded into coal and later to Brisbane and then on Papua New Guinea where he managed the Highlands Gold project.
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Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
