



The Hon. Greg Hunt MP  Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science

MEDIA RELEASE

15 December 2016



Australian innovation set to be a global leader in gold analysis

Gold analysis technology developed by CSIRO is set to be commercialised by a new Australian  company, Chrysos, in an exciting development that has the potential to place Australia as a world  leader in analytical services for the precious metal.

As an Australian innovation being taken to market by an Australian company, this is another  example of the Turnbull Government’s strategic commitment to catalyse industry innovation for the  benefit of the nation and create jobs.

Based on 15-years of research and development by CSIRO, the technology called PhotonAssay uses  high powered X-rays to bombard rock samples and activate atoms of gold and other metals.

A highly sensitive detector picks up unique atomic signatures to determine the concentrations of  these different elements.

PhotonAssay will enable mining companies to rapidly detect small traces of gold, allowing them to  more efficiently plan, run and optimise their mining and mineral processing operations.

Australian annual gold production is valued at approximately $15 billion in a global market worth  over $150 billion, and worldwide expenditure on gold analysis is estimated to be worth around $1  billion annually.

In an industry facing declining ore grades, rapid analytical technology has the potential to unlock  substantial productivity gains in gold mining and production, and open up a significant new market  for real-time analysis services in on-site applications.

To bring PhotonAssay technology to market, government, industry, investors and the research  sector have partnered together to launch a new company, Chrysos Corporation Limited.

Chrysos comes from the Greek word for gold and the company will initially focus on the yellow  metal, before expanding into other commodities including copper and silver.

Chrysos will deliver its first unit in late 2017 before rolling out smaller systems for mine-site  operations the following year.

For more information visit www.chrysos.com.au

(ENDS)

