Tag Archives: ALS

Chrysos Corp adds Britannia Mining, Kibali to PhotonAssay customer base

Mineral exploration, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Chrysos Corp continues to expand the reach of its PhotonAssay™ technology, with the company set to provide new units to Britannia Mining Solutions, Intertek and Barrick Gold’s Kibali gold mine.

This brings the total number of deployed or contractually committed units to 38, up from the previous total of 33 units, with the new lease contracts increasing Chrysos’ total contract value by A$108.6 million to A$559.8 million ($386.8 million).

Two five-year leases (with five-year renewal options) have been signed with new customer Canada-based Britannia Life Sciences to deploy PhotonAssay units across its newly formed North American subsidiary, Britannia Mining Solutions. The contract specifies the deployment of an initial two PhotonAssay units while providing the opportunity for further expansion of the agreement in the future.

Two other new lease contracts highlight Chrysos’ growing relationship with international testing, inspection and certification company, Intertek (ITK). The association, which started with the installation in 2021 of two PhotonAssay units at ITK’s Minerals Global Centre of Excellence in Perth, Western Australia, has since expanded to include another already-operating unit in Perth and the upcoming deployment of two new units on a five-year plus five-year-option contract basis for the ITK business in Ghana.

Chrysos says one recently commissioned PhotonAssay unit is now operating in Val d’Or, Canada, with MSALABS, and another unit is now fully operational in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, with ALS, it added.

Furthermore, Barrick Gold is expanding its adoption of PhotonAssay technology, with one of MSALABS’ already-committed PhotonAssay units to be deployed to Barrick’s Kibali gold mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Barrick, in partnership with MSALABS Ltd, installed a Chrysos PhotonAssay laboratory at the Bulyanhulu mine in Tanzania last year.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dirk Treasure, said: “This is an exciting time for our business as we continue to execute our expansion plans and focus on key international mining hubs.

“With increasing demand, a strong pipeline of blue-chip customers and our global market penetration continuing at pace, we feel the business is well positioned to meet its ongoing strategic and operational objectives.”

PhotonAssay, Chrysos says, delivers faster, safer and more accurate analysis of gold, silver and complementary elements by non-destructive measurement of larger and more representative samples in as little as two minutes, enabling rapid turnaround of critical operational information that drives optimisation throughout the mining value chain.

The system, originally developed at Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, provides an environmentally friendly, chemical-free, more sustainable replacement for traditional fire assay methods, significantly reducing CO2 emissions and hazardous waste.

Chrysos went public on the Australian Securities Exchange earlier this month following a successful, fully underwritten IPO, raising A$183.5 million at A$6.50 per share.

Perenti offloads MinAnalytical to ALS, but retains interest in Chrysos PhotonAssay tech

Automation, Mineral exploration, Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, , , , ,

Perenti says it has signed an agreement to divest MinAnalytical Laboratory Services Australia Pty Ltd, a Perenti subsidiary, to ALS Ltd in a deal worth A$43.6 million ($31.2 million).

Of the total consideration for the transaction, A$39 million relates to shares in MinAnalytical, with an additional $4.6 million for prepayments and other financial adjustments. The transaction is anticipated to be completed prior to December 31, 2021.

Mark Norwell, Managing Director and CEO of Perenti, said the divestment was part of the ongoing strategic review of the company’s portfolio, including its services, operating regions and businesses.

“As we continue to focus on optimising the performance of our business and creating long-term sustainable value for our shareholders, we are pleased to have entered into a binding agreement for the divestment of our MinAnalytical business to ALS.”

He added: “ALS is a premier provider of analytical testing data worldwide and has a track record of acquiring and embedding complementary businesses and analytical technology to deliver value for their clients. MinAnalytical, and the significant new technology offering of the Chrysos PhotonAssay machines, is a natural fit for the ALS portfolio and will benefit greatly from the synergies and economies of scale that ALS can offer.”

MinAnalytical has several PhotonAssay units it is using for customers, with a high level of automated sample preparation in place.

Following the transaction, Perenti is to retain our 8% equity holding in Chrysos, Norwell said, explaining: “We, much like ALS, appreciate the significant current and future value proposition that the Chrysos business represents.”

He added: “In line with our significant focus on liquidity and capital management, the net proceeds of this transaction will be allocated across our portfolio to maximise shareholder value. We will continue to evaluate and progress a number of capital management initiatives designed to generate cash flow, streamline our portfolio, liberate cash, sustainably reduce our leverage ratio and efficiently allocate capital across our business.”

Gekko to build tungsten ore processing plant for Dolphin Mine re-development

Base metals, Comminution of minerals, Mineral processing, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , ,

Gekko Systems says it has executed a construction contract with Group 6 Metals Limited for the design, procurement, construction and commissioning of the processing plant and related facilities for the redevelopment of G6M’s 100% owned Dolphin Mine, located on King Island, Tasmania.

The contract, which has a value of approximately A$49 million ($35 million), anticipates the commissioning of the facilities in the March quarter of 2023. Based on this timing the first shipment of ore from the Dolphin mine to customers will also occur during the three-month period.

Gekko has been engaged with G6M (formerly King Island Scheelite) over the last three years and, together, the companies have formulated the flowsheet which was developed after extensive independent test work at the ALS laboratory undertaken on behalf of G6M in Burnie, Tasmania.

Following the execution of the contract, G6M is scheduled to commence earthworks early in the March quarter of 2022 in preparation of the civil works commencing soon thereafter.

Group 6 Metals Executive Chairman, Johann Jacobs, said: “We have successfully worked very closely with Gekko over a number of years, which has culminated in us being able to execute this substantial contract so soon after completion of the financing of the project. We look forward to continuing our working relationship with Gekko to ensure a quality facility that is completed on time and within budget.”

Chair of Gekko Systems, Elizabeth Lewis-Gray, added: “This is a critical resource development and an important project for regional Tasmania and Victoria. The team at Gekko are proud to have the opportunity to collaborate on and deliver a quality, locally designed and built process plant solution for Group 6 Metals.”

An October presentation from King Island Scheelite outlined a 400,000 t/y ore operation, producing 275,000 metric tonne units of tungsten oxide.