Mining Acquisition and Due Diligence Framework
“Mining acquisitions fail for predictable reasons. Geological risk underpriced. Geotechnical data inadequate. Feasibility assumptions untested. Regulatory exposure unquantified. Social licence fragility unrecognised. This framework surfaces all of those before capital is committed — not after.”
The Mining Acquisition and Due Diligence Framework is Volume 2 of the MM-DR Series — the owner-side governance framework for mining acquisitions from first interest through to project sanction. Built for project owners, institutional investors, development finance institution technical teams, and senior practitioners managing mining acquisitions at sovereign and institutional grade.
This volume opens at first acquisition interest and closes at project sanction. Every assessment is conducted across all seven MM-DR risk pillars — calibrated to the acquisition phase, with defined data adequacy thresholds at each gate.
Requires Volume 1 — Mining Project Risk Management Framework as its governance foundation.
What This Volume Covers
Acquisition Scoping and Target Screening Owner-side criteria for evaluating acquisition targets before committing to due diligence expenditure. Screening across geological prospectivity, geotechnical risk profile, regulatory status, social licence standing, and financial model credibility.
Technical Due Diligence Framework Structured assessment across all seven MM-DR pillars calibrated to the acquisition phase. Defined data adequacy thresholds per phase gate. Independent verification of all technical reports relied upon in the acquisition.
Data Room Review Protocol What to look for, what to ask for, and what absence of data tells you about the asset and the vendor. Owner-side data room discipline that surfaces risk before exclusivity is granted.
Competent Person Credential Auditing Contextual experience validation beyond compliance checking. Applied to all geological, geotechnical, and environmental reports relied upon in the acquisition process.
Drill Core and Geological Data Audit Independent verification of resource and reserve estimates, reconciliation track record, grade continuity assessment, and orebody knowledge scoring against the proposed mining method.
Geotechnical Data Adequacy Assessment Is the investigation programme sufficient for the current design stage and the proposed mining method? Gap identification and recommended investigation programme before project sanction.
Regulatory and Social Licence Status Assessment Permitting critical path, outstanding approvals, community engagement status, Indigenous land rights, water rights tenure, and political risk exposure — assessed and documented before acquisition commitment.
Financial Model Independence Review CAPEX and OPEX adequacy, contingency basis, sensitivity to key assumptions, and mining method appropriateness. Owner-side financial model review distinct from vendor-prepared documentation.
Gate Output Instruments The Acquisition Readiness Report and the Brownfield Asset Condition Assessment are the two formal gate output instruments produced at project sanction. Both are received by the Capital Finance and Compliance Framework and the Operational Readiness Framework at the Definitive Feasibility Study gate.
The MM-DR Series
Volume 1 — Mining Project Risk Management Framework Volume 3 — Mining Capital Finance and Market Compliance Framework Volume 4 — Mining Operational Readiness Framework Volume 5 — Mining Operations and Performance Governance Framework Volume 6 — Mine Closure Governance Framework
Apply This Framework With Mine Masters
The Mining Acquisition and Due Diligence Framework is designed to be self-applied by senior practitioners on active acquisitions. It is also the framework Mine Masters applies directly when engaged as owner-side adviser on a mining acquisition — conducting the technical due diligence, producing the gate output instruments, and delivering independent owner-side sign-off before project sanction.
Two paths. Same framework. Same standard.
Access Volume 2 — AUD $195 (Free Preview Available)
Access the Complete MM-DR Series — AUD $995
