Testing times

摘要

IN THE current climate of high metal prices and numerous new projects being advanced by recently listed juniors, analysis providers - just like tyre producers and capital equipment manufacturers - are under significant pressure to keep up. The junior mining sector is also being supported by the investment community as never before and, as a result, exploration spending is higher than at any other time in the past 20 years. There are capacity issues across the board due to the sheer speed of the boom, which came after some really difficult years in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Analytical companies are now having to invest heavily to expand their lab coverage and manpower to keep up. However, lead times for analysis equipment are also getting longer. In general, the larger analytical companies, with large contracts in place with the instrument manufacturers, are in a better position - particularly versus any junior miners trying to purchase analytical equipment themselves.