The NatGold digital gold mining model is centered on tokenizing the existence of in-ground gold, and gold resources measure exactly that—the existence of gold, with probabilities assigned to each category. Measured and indicated gold resources can be converted into proven or probable reserves based on a range of factors that determine the economic viability of extraction—factors that have little to do with the gold’s existence itself. These factors include environmental characteristics, metallurgy, proximity to infrastructure, water resource availability, deposit depth, taxation considerations, political stability, gold price, security concerns, and, most critically, environmental and social permitting issues.

It’s essential to understand that the quantity of gold does not change when resources are reclassified as reserves. The gold’s existence remains constant. Since the NatGold model is focused on tokenizing the existence of gold and leaving it securely vaulted in the earth, it avoids the philosophical and logistical complexities of a model aimed at assessing the economic feasibility of extracting gold at a specific point in time.

Measured resources today could become proven reserves tomorrow and then revert back to measured resources as variables like gold prices or environmental permitting evolve. This highlights a key difference: while reserves are subject to subjective economic and logistical considerations, the classification of gold resources is based on objective geological processes designed to define the quantifiable existence of gold in the ground.

In the context of a digital gold mining model, what matters most is the existence of gold resources–making them the only relevant consideration for digital mining into NatGold Tokens.