Natural Resources Canada / Chemex Laboratories

FPTT Technology Transfer Award

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) /
Chemex Laboratories

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Successful transfer and commercialization of procedures for analyzing species of elements in geological materials

Gwendy Hall
Geological Survey of Canada, NRCan

Henk Blok
Chemex Laboratories

Brenda Caughlin
Chemex Laboratories

It took a world-class Canadian mining assay company to capitalize on the state-of-the-art techniques developed by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) to analyse geological and environmental materials for the exploratory mining industry. Chemex Laboratories, with a proven international record in assay and geochemical services, employ NRCan's breakthrough method, known as selective leaching, to identify and quantify the elements found in materials such as soil and lake and stream sediments that determine a mining venture's likelihood of success. The mining industry world-wide spends approximately $250 million a year of its total $2.5-billion budget on such analytical services. Chemex, which has added the procedure to its core activities, plans to hire three new employees to help analyse an initial order of at least 10,000 samples, worth as much as $200,000 in revenues to the company. The development of the selective leach method required a combination of geological expertise, knowledge of complex solution and solid chemical equilibria and high tech instrument skills. The transfer of technology allows Chemex to expand its repertoire by devoting resources to the development of operational procedures and expertise rather than embark alone on the lengthy and risky process of basic research. The potential of the selective leach process was clearly demonstrated by the interest it generated during a Canadian Mining Industry Research Organization (CAMIRO) Project on Deep Penetrating Geochemistry, a project funded by more than 25 industry sponsors, including most of the major mining companies. Application of the method extends to areas outside the mining industry. Talks are underway to develop the Canadian discovery as a tool for on-site inspection of soils to detect past underground nuclear events by geochemical signatures in countries included in the United Nations Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

Sponsored by:
Noranda Inc.