People have hit my question on the head repeatedly: Will it take financing to get things moved to 'Proven' or will it take 'Proven' to get the financing? I have been wracking my brain with this for the last 9 months.

I stumbled on this article that discusses this issue and even lays out clearly the system that is typically used for classification of resources and reserves. It is actually a very interesting read w/ some strong opinion and concise writing. If any of you are actively involved in the industry, you may even be familiar with it already.

http://www.jorc.org/pdf/vaughan.pdf