Tag Archives: Orange

SGS to start offering PhotonAssay analysis in Orange, New South Wales

Mineral exploration, Mining services, Precious metals, Sustainable mining, , , , , , ,

SGS is expanding its Chrysos PhotonAssay™ offering, confirming that it will be able to offer analysis using this technology at its Orange laboratory in New South Wales, Australia, from December.

The Orange laboratory was opened in July 2022 with an aim of delivering first class geochemistry testing services to clients across Australia.

Back in 2021, SGS said it was expanding its service delivery in obtaining Chrysos PhotonAssay technology as an alternative to traditional fire assay procedures. The two companies – SGS and Chrysos – reached an agreement to install a PhotonAssay unit at SGS’s Australian Minerals Regional Hub in Perth, Western Australia.

Hitting samples with high-energy X-rays, Chrysos PhotonAssay causes excitation of atomic nuclei allowing rapid and enhanced analysis of gold, silver and complementary elements. Importantly, the non-destructive process allows large samples of up to 500 g to be measured and provides a “true” bulk reading independent of the chemical or physical form of the sample, the companies say. The technology is also measurably safer and more environmentally friendly than previous assay processes, aligning with SGS’s core principle of achieving a better, safer, and more interconnected world, SGS added.

PhotonAssay provides enhanced analysis of gold, silver and complementary elements in as little as two minutes, improving turnaround time, SGS says.

Chrysos said it processed 1.3 million samples in the three-month period to September 30, with 54 currently deployed or contractually-committed PhotonAssay units in total.

MacLean SS5 battery-electric shotcrete sprayer to be tested at AngloGold’s Sunrise Dam

Environmental, Mining equipment, Mining events, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , , , ,

MacLean is set to showcase its SS5 battery-electric vehicle (BEV) Shotcrete Sprayer at the Underground Operators Conference 2023 (UGOPS), in Brisbane, Australia, next week, but it also has one eye on the unit’s first mine site trial at the AngloGold Ashanti-owned Sunrise Dam operation in Western Australia.

Attendees of UGOPS will get a first-hand look at the EV Series™ product on the company’s booth. This battery-electric shotcrete sprayer has been put through its paces at the Maclean Research & Training Facility in Sudbury, Ontario, and is equipped with the likes of Quickscan thickness imaging and Chemsave accelerant savings technologies.

Alongside celebrating its 50th year of existence as an Ontario-headquartered company, 2023 is a landmark year for MacLean Australia, with multiple MacLean BEVs starting to arrive in-country to be introduced to Australian mining companies and mining contractors. One such contractor is Barminco, which is set to receive the SS5 for testing at Sunrise Dam. Sandvik’s 65-t-payload battery-electric truck, the TH665B, is also set for field testing at the same operation.

MacLean has had a full-service parts and technical support branch in Perth, Western Australia, for over a decade and, in 2021, opened a second service and support branch in Orange, New South Wales, to support a growing fleet of MacLean mining vehicles in underground mining hubs in the eastern region of the country.

Jari Tuorila, MacLean GM for Australasia, said: “We are really looking forward to the UGOPS event and showing – not just telling – the Australian mining industry exactly what the value proposition of MacLean EV Series product line is. When we say, ‘EV-proven, EV-ready’, we mean it. It’s not just a slogan. Over 50 MacLean BEVs have been commissioned around the mining world since the MacLean Fleet Electrification program was launched in 2015, with a quarter million operating hours logged, and we’re only at the starting line for Australia.

“Our message to our industry colleagues is simple – we have a diesel-free production support fleet option for you, right now. We can’t wait to welcome visitors to our booth to see the BEV shotcrete sprayer in person and speak with our team of technical experts, which will include product management and engineering colleagues from Canada.”

Patrick Marshall, MacLean’s Brisbane-based Vice President of Technology, added: “The UGOPS showcase is just the kick-off to a multi-stage introduction of MacLean EV Series technology to Australia across 2023. The minute the show closes on March 29th, the MacLean Australia team will be turning their attention to shipping the BEV SS5 unit to Barminco at Sunrise Dam, where it will be trialled by the contractor throughout the summer. We are committed to seeing this real-world trial succeed and then build on that success to more broadly introduce MacLean fleet electrification to the Australian industry.”