From Exploration to Ore Grade Analysis - Looking at the Future for High-Quality Elemental Analysis
Matthew Witham
Chief Chemist, Minerals
Intertek, Western Australia
matthew.witham@intertek.com
Abstract
The commercial minerals laboratory industry is a highly competitive environment, with laboratories required to provide high-quality analytical results while maintaining competitive turnaround times and pricing. The emergence of disruptive technologies, such as PhotonAssay, has highlighted the importance of laboratories continuing to evolve and adopt new technologies. At the same time, laboratories must respond to changes in the minerals market and be prepared to support the analysis of emerging commodities and increasingly complex sample types.
Intertek has recently integrated a range of technologies and analytical capabilities across its laboratory network to improve data quality, increase efficiency, and expand into new markets. These developments include:
- ICP-MS-QQQ technology, which enables lower detection limits through improved control and removal of spectral interferences, providing greater confidence in trace-level analysis.
- Minalyzer core scanning, introduced through a recent partnership with Veracio, which provides the ability to quantify sulfur and arsenic in samples previously analysed by PhotonAssay without requiring additional sample preparation.
- High-purity concentrate analysis, supporting the growing number of companies producing high-purity concentrates in Australia through accurate determination of both the primary commodity and critical impurity elements.
- Laboratory automation, with investment in automated sample preparation and analytical techniques to increase capacity, improve consistency, and address the challenges associated with growing sample volumes and a constrained labour market.
Together, these developments demonstrate how the integration of advanced analytical technologies, complementary techniques, and automation can improve laboratory performance while expanding the range of services available to the minerals industry.
Speaker Bio
Matthew graduated from Curtin University with a PhD focusing on clean syngas production from biomass. He joined Intertek in 2018 commencing on the graduate program. Matthew's primary focus as the Chief Chemist is the improvement of current and the development of new methodology to fit the current and future needs of the mining industry. This ranges from developing analytical techniques capable of quantifying low concentration elements in exploration samples to high concentration elements in concentrate samples. General improvements in laboratory quality is a focus, which looks into the latest instrumentation and the utilization of AI.
3MT – 3 Minute Thesis
The Australian Chapter of ACS and the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) collaborate in hosting the Annual "3-Minute Thesis in Chemical Sciences" Presentations in 2026, which is open to all research students in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. WA branch of RACI will be conducting the competition at the state level, while the Australian Chapter is tasked with hosting the finals on December 2. The final will be an online event (please see details below). Everyone is welcome to join in the event and cheer for all competitors who will deliver a presentation of their important scientific research project with strong passion and enthusiasm, but they each have only 3 minutes to do so!
Eligibility: Honors, Masters and PhD students (not graduated).
Cash prize for winners of the National final.
Please email raci-WA@raci.org.au to express your interest in participating. We will reach out to those interested with the rules.
Email your interest by Oct 9th.
Finale - Online Instructions:
Url: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/44986449205609?p=4ZheAm4spBQH4G7l96
Login: Meeting ID: 449 864 492 056 09 Passcode: ZY7uE9cP
Evening details
Date: Wednesday 14th October
Time: 5.30 pm Refreshments and registration
6.00 pm Presentation
To be followed by more networking, and Pizza
7.00 pm 3MT
Venue: ChemCentre, Exhibition Space, Building 500, Curtin University.
Cost: Free. Please RSVP for catering purposes
