The Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia (MRIWA) has recognised how Portable PPB’s detectORE technology has helped exploration companies save resources and costs while upholding efficiency.
detectORE was first developed by CSIRO in 2016. It was later advanced by Portable PPB, becoming a commercially available process to fast-track field-based gold exploration in remote locations.
The challenge of the project, titled Field-based XRF for prompt gold analysis, was that sample analysis for mining companies previously involved turn-around periods ranging from a few days to many weeks.
This was because they needed to send samples away to laboratories during exploration. This resulted in inefficient exploration practices and higher costs especially when exploring in remote areas.
By using the detectORE method, rapid analytical response time can be reduced from 24 hours to six in concentrations as low as 10 parts per billion. If samples are collected in the morning, they can be analysed that afternoon to inform the next day’s sampling activities.
“With the support of MRIWA and industry funding, the project tested application of the method to samples from Africa, North America and Australia, demonstrating wide applicability across different gold mineralisation styles and sample types,” the MRIWA said.
Since the project commenced, the Portable PPB team has expanded from three to twelve local staff and the research and development functions have moved to a combined facility with its manufacturing and supply chain activities in Canning Vale, WA.
“(The combined MRIWA and industry funding) was critical in supporting the technology development through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Portable PPB chief executive officer Simon Bolster said.
“By enabling the research to continue, we have now been able to turn this into a useable product for industry, keeping manufacturing in Perth and producing over 8000 widgets per day.”
Portable PPB’s further research and development is set to focus on applying the detectORE technique to mineral exploration of other commodities such as silver and copper.
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