Page 58 - pd301-Feb22-mag-web_Neat1

detectORE:
With assay labs backlogged
and logistics chains stretched,
Portable PPB is demonstrating
impeccable timing with the
launch of its new detectORE™
product into the gold
exploration sector.
A game-changer for
gold exploration
Set for commercial release in the next few months, detectORE™ could trans-
form gold exploration in remote areas where the orebodies of the future are
being searched for, thanks to its ability to provide low-level gold responses
in XRF machines in the field, in near-real time.
Invented and patented by CSIRO, detectORE™ has been in commercial
development for four years with Portable PPB testing the technology across
sample media, mineralisation styles and types and regolith terrains globally.
The commercialisation process has been led by Portable PPB managing
director Simon Bolster who formed the group after a 30-year career in global
gold exploration, specialising in regolith geochemistry and remote sensing.
Bolster says detectORE™ will be a “game-changer” for the global gold
exploration sector.
“This will fill a gap in the market and will transform the way gold explorers go
about their business, particularly in remote locations,” Bolster says, “increas-
ing the probability of discovery and quickening the pace of discoveries”
Portable PPB expects detectORE™ to be of greatest benefits to explorers in
remote areas where access to labs are poor and field seasons are short.
“Currently, geologists can’t move a project forward until they receive the
assay results and with labs overloaded, that means long turnaround times,”
Bolster says.
“The explorationists currently are guided by proxies for gold, such as indica-
tor elements and alteration but many have found the best guide to gold, is
gold”.
“The detectORE™ technique can produce a result inside eight hours, mean-
ing for the geologists’ workflow, you can have fieldies collecting samples
and mapping and you will quickly know where to focus field activities or drill
programs, the next day.”
According to Bolster, the technique will bridge the gap between portable
XRF readings and low-level gold detection.
“The use of portable XRF machines is common in gold exploration but until
now remained ineffective for the actual detection of low-level gold,” he
explains. “
The detectORE™ system uses the patented consumable plus specially
designed software to prepare a sample capable of being reliably tested for
gold using commercially available but optimised portable XRF machines.
After acquiring the licence for the technique and technology, Portable PPB
established a sponsorship scheme with industry participants allowing it to
both fund commercial development and further refine the technique.
“The sponsorship scheme was about more than just getting money in the
door, it also delivered us samples to demonstrate the product,” Bolster says.