SAMPLING , ANALYSIS AND LAB ASSAY
debuted at the major exploration-focused show .
TruScan 2 , featuring HyperXRF™ , a mineralogical solution integrated into Veracio ’ s core scanning platform , boasts co-registered data streams from both hyperspectral and XRF scanning supported by enhanced QA / QC , the company says . The scanning capabilities of both chips and core provide scanning data , including mineralogical data , to teams within 24 hours . Field trials and deliveries occurred in 2024 .
TruProbe is an integrated app , cloud and stackable hardware solution , combining both rig and downhole sensing technologies . Building on the foundations set by Veracio ’ s north seeking TruGyro , TruProbe “ stacks ” a robust gamma sensor to enable operators to log both borehole deviation and gamma simultaneously , Veracio claims . On the rig , the app connects to an azimuth rig aligner and wireless depth counter .
The software in both the handheld app and the cloud drives efficiency and accuracy through a simple , easy-to-use design , while the hardware is integrated with industry-standard running gear for safer and faster operation , according to the company .
Strata is Veracio ’ s cloud technology environment to ensure there are software offerings available to pair with all Veracio hardware , now further enriched by the recent additions to the Minalyze™ software offering , including Minalogger™ . For downhole surveying , the seamless connectivity to the TruProbe app will , Veracio says , provide a new way to visualise 3D hole path and empower teams with data access to advance their projects no matter where they are in the world .
Once deployed , the Macraes unit will be the second PhotonAssay unit outside of Australia , and the fourth unit overall , to be operated by SGS .
Chrysos Managing Director and CEO , Dirk Treasure , said : “ Our best-fit leasing approach not only demonstrates the evolution of our miner and laboratory relationships , but also supports the variety of operating models being used by customers across the world . This operational breadth provides Chrysos with flexibility in how it approaches the market and executes its global expansion plans .”
More recently , and summarising the broader market potential of the model , Treasure offered : “ In general , it ’ s a simple progression of our approach to delivering customer value . The model being employed at Macraes mirrors methodologies often favoured by miners in other operational areas . For example , it ’ s quite common across the industry for a producer to own the equipment in a laboratory but to contract a third-party laboratory business to run the process .
“ Ultimately , this model gives both Chrysos and its customers more flexibility and control over operational outcomes . So , for us , it ’ s not a stepchange in our approach , just a natural part of our ongoing evolution and focus on delivering market-aligned value .”
SGS recently said it was expanding its Chrysos PhotonAssay offering , starting to offer analysis using this technology at its Orange laboratory in New South Wales , 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 , Chrysos and SGS 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 , it added .
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 .
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Historically , gold-copper mining operations have had to rely upon two separate assaying methods for elemental analysis : fire assay for gold and hot plate digestion for copper .
Fire assay is a common , multi-step assaying method that takes hours to complete , requires a high degree of expertise and necessitates the use of lead fluxes , and the requisite safety measures . The hot plate digestion method used
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Still on the X-ray front , Chrysos Corp recently signed a new customer contract under its standard terms and conditions with OceanaGold to lease a PhotonAssay™ unit at the Macraes Operation in New Zealand .
The Macraes Operation , on the South Island , is New Zealand ’ s largest active gold-producing mine , having produced over 5 Moz of gold since 1990 . Its recent contract is for three years with a potential two-year extension .
Expected to be installed in the first six months of 2025 and representing Chrysos ’ first deployment in New Zealand , the Macraes unit will be operated by existing Chrysos customer SGS ; representing the first PhotonAssay unit to be leased by a miner and operated on-site by a laboratory .
Chrysos says it views this working model to be of significance to its business as it affords the company operational flexibility in how it approaches the market and executes its global expansion plans .
ColdBlock digestion uses focused , short-wave infrared heating and a cooling zone to dissolve solid sample matter into solution
58 International Mining | FEBRUARY 2025