The economically viable subset of mineral occurrences or deposits under the CRMA context, distinct from resources, exploration targets, or speculative supply.
Reserves turn geological information into a more constrained supply signal. The value depends on the estimate, date, market assumptions, and source document, so reserve status should not be reused as proof of delivered material, traceability, or product availability.
The EU Critical Raw Materials Act uses reserves in an upstream supply-capacity context. The term should remain tied to economic viability and assessment timing rather than treated as a static physical fact.
Regulation (EU) 2024/1252 establishing a framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials
all mineral occurrences that are economically viable to extract in a particular market context
CRMA Article 2 source-specific definition layer.
Reference: Article 2, point 7
Reviewed public draft page. Aligns with CRMA raw-material priority policy: source-bound category boundaries, concrete implementation objects, and evidence-focused commentary.
Implementation records should capture deposit or project record, reserve estimate, economic-viability basis, assessment date, source document, material, location, operator/owner where relevant, confidence/category note, and links to extraction capacity or supply-risk records.
Reserves are upstream evidence that can be connected to supply-risk and project records, but they need to stay separated from actual extraction, shipment, processing, or product traceability evidence.