A circa-US$140 million contract with Barrick Gold and Newmont-owned Nevada Gold Mines (NGM) is a “significant beachhead” in the USA for contractor Capital’s assay laboratory arm, MSALABS, which will spend about $7 million next year on a state-of-the-art hybrid lab in Nevada.
The lab will feature conventional fire assay facilities and ultimately three PhotonAssay non-fire assay machines supplied by Australia’s Chrysos Corporation.
MSALABS, Chrysos and Barrick recently announced a global partnership for deployment of PhotonAssay units.
Stuart Thomson, MSALABS CEO, said the Nevada laboratory would be the first of its kind in the USA.
“These three new PhotonAssay units mark the start of a broader partnership agreement with Barrick Gold, with trials underway for a possible 10 further PhotonAssay units by the end of 2025 across multiple of Barrick’s other operations.”
London-listed Capital said the NGM lab would generate about $30 million a year when fully operational at about 120,000 samples per month from 2025. The five-year, c$140 million initial contract is the largest in MSALABS’s history.
The company also expects to employ about 110 people at the facility.
“This long-term contract entrenches MSALABS presence in the Americas, both operationally given the full suite of services across preparation, PhotonAssay, fire assay and multi-element chemistry at a major operation, and also geographically, expanding its footprint in the Americas from its multiple laboratories across Canada and South America,” Capital said.
The drilling and mining contractor also has a three-year drilling services contract with NGM expected to generate about $35Mpa from 2025.
Former Orica and BME manager Aaron Austin has meanwhile joined Capital as its Americas CEO.
“We are pleased to have Aaron as part of the team overseeing the ramp up of these contracts as well as further opportunities in the region,” Capital CEO Peter Stokes said.