Chrysos Corporation, pioneer of the PhotonAssay technology, and MSALABS, a global provider of geochemical laboratory services for the exploration and mining sectors, have announced a global partnership to deliver Chrysos’ groundbreaking assay solution to the international mining industry. The partnership will see MSALABS, a subsidiary of Capital Ltd, deploy at least six Chrysos PhotonAssay units across the globe over the next 18 months.
The first unit will be installed at BarrickGold Corporation’s Bulyanhulu mine in Tanzania as previously announced, and the companies will then commission three more units in Africa and a further two in Canada by mid-2022. Chrysos PhotonAssay delivers faster, safer and more accurate gold analysis and is an environmentally friendly replacement for fire assay on-site and in the laboratory. Hitting samples with high-energy X-rays, the technology causes excitation of atomic nuclei allowing enhanced analysis of gold, silver and complementary elements in as little as two minutes.
Importantly, Chrysos PhotonAssay allows large samples of up to 500g to be measured and provides a true bulk reading independent of the chemical or physical form of the sample. The process is completely non-destructive, and all samples can be retained for further testing or analysis if required. MSALABS CEO, Stuart Thomson, underlined the importance of the partnership: “Adding Chrysos PhotonAssay into the mix of our offering for our global mining customers is exciting for us. This technology will significantly improve the results turn-around time for our clients. They can be confident that critical data will be delivered consistently within timeframes not possible with Fire Assay. The process also requires less technical training and minimises the likelihood of error, all tangible, measurable benefits that enhance decision-making and improve our customers’ bottom lines.”
He adds: “In recent times we have grown our network significantly and have thirteen laboratories in all the key mining centres. As we roll out this technology across our regions, we expect it will benefit our customers operating across the mining value chain, from greenfields exploration, through to production and eventualmine closure, and will be an outstanding addition to our existing complete range of geochemical laboratory services for miners and explorers alike.”
Chrysos Chief Executive Dirk Treasure noted that PhotonAssay’svalue proposition continued to evolve and that its expansion into complementary elements outside of gold was a key factor in sparking the relationship between the two companies. According to Treasure: “Chrysos PhotonAssay’s analytical abilities across gold, silver, copper and moisture were strong factors in the technology being chosen to support the Capital Ltd and MSALABS service expansion program at Barrick’s Bulyanhulu gold mine in Tanzania.”
Looking to the future, Treasure was confident the new partnership would bear fruit for both organisations. “Working with MSALABS is a very exciting opportunity for the Chrysos team. Both companies understand that PhotonAssay is truly groundbreaking for the wider industry and environment. However, more specifically, this relationship is important not just because it expands the footprint of the technology, but because it enables two like-minded businesses to add real value to their customers around the world.”