Cumulative Resource Recovery

What is this formula?

Cumulative Resource Recovery (CRR) measures the proportion of the recoverable resource that has already been extracted.

It is widely used in mining, petroleum engineering, groundwater management, and resource development projects to track depletion progress throughout the life of an asset.

The indicator provides a simple measure of project maturity and remaining production potential.

When to use it

Use this formula when evaluating:

- Mine depletion status

- Oil and gas field maturity

- Groundwater resource utilization

- Resource management reporting

- Long-term production planning

Example

A copper deposit has an estimated recoverable reserve of 80 million tonnes.

To date, 28 million tonnes have been extracted.

Data:

Qc = 28,000,000 t

Rr = 80,000,000 t

Formula:

CRR = Qc / Rr

Substitution:

CRR = 28,000,000 / 80,000,000

Result:

CRR = 0.35

Cumulative Recovery = 35%

Approximately 35% of the recoverable resource has already been produced.

Applications

- Mining engineering

- Reservoir engineering

- Resource accounting

- Asset valuation

- Production forecasting

- Resource sustainability assessments

Note

This indicator assumes that the estimate of recoverable resources remains valid. In practice, reserve estimates may increase or decrease as additional exploration data, technological improvements, economic conditions, or revised resource models become available. Therefore, the cumulative recovery percentage should be interpreted together with the latest reserve estimates.