Petrolab Welcomes Connor Wells and Jonathan Coad

Petrolab Welcomes Connor Wells and Jonathan Coad

Petrolab are delighted to welcome Connor Wells and Jonathan Coad. Connor Wells is a recent Geology graduate from the University of West England (UWE). As part of his time at UWE he acquired wide-ranging experience in analytical and mineralogical analysis techniques along with an independent mapping project. Jonathan Coad is a recent Geology graduate from the Royal School of Mines (RSM) and Camborne School of Mines (CSM), where he has just completed a Masters in Mineral Processing. As part of his time at RSM and CSM he has acquired extensive experience in analytical and mineralogical analysis techniques along with the organisation of fieldtrips in his role as Vice-President of the student chapter of the Society of Economic Geologists at Imperial University. They join Petrolab as part of a growing minerals consultancy supporting the materials and mining industry....
PDAC 2020

PDAC 2020

This Week James Strongman is attending PDAC 2020, the world’s premier mineral exploration and mining convention. Petrolab are attending as part of a delegation of Cornish mining companies and consultancies organised by Cornwall Trade and Investment showcasing the region’s mining potential and exciting future direction to an international audience –  With the Department for International Trade launching Cornwall’s mining sector as one of the UKs ‘high potential opportunities’ at the event last year, Petrolab are proud to be part of a strong delegation of companies travelling to Canada to highlight the regions unique prospects and expertise. More details about the delegation and Cornwall Trade and Investments role can be found on their website here, along with information on the wider contingent of Cornish companies here. To learn more about our automated mineralogy services please visit the Cornwall Investment booth – 7328N. Prior to the conference our Senior mineralogist, Christopher Brough attended a business breakfast to discuss the upcoming PDAC event with other attendees, a short video excerpt about the benefits of being based in Cornwall is shown below; “We are attending PDAC to...
Leaders Council Podcast

Leaders Council Podcast

The Leaders Council of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is currently in the process of talking to leadership figures from across the nation in an attempt to understand this universal trait and what it means in Britain and Northern Ireland today. James Strongman from Petrolab was invited onto an episode of the podcast, which also included an interview with Sir Geoff Hurst. Host Matthew O’Neill asked both guests a series of questions about leadership and the role it has played in their careers to date. Matthew O’Neill commented, ‘Hosting a show like this, where you speak to genuine leaders who have been there and done it, either on a national stage or within a crucial industry sector, is an absolute honour.’ Lord Blunkett, chairman of The Leaders Council of Great Britain and Northern Ireland said, ‘I think the most informative element of each episode is the first part, where Matthew O’Neill is able to sit down with someone who really gets how their industry works and knows how to make their organisation tick. Someone who’s there day in day...
Concrete testing to new Irish Standard I.S. 465:2018

Concrete testing to new Irish Standard I.S. 465:2018

Petrolab has completed its first tests carried out in accordance with this recently published Irish Standard. I.S. 465:2018 is concerned with the assessment, testing and categorisation of damaged buildings made with concrete blocks containing certain deleterious materials (excessive quantities of free muscovite mica or pyrite) in Co. Donegal and Co. Mayo. The problem is similar in many respects to that of ‘mundic’ concrete degradation in the sout-west of England, and the petrographic examination requirements of the new I.S. draw upon those developed for the RICS Mundic Guidance by Petrolab and other petrographers. Petrolab is pleased to be able to apply its considerable 25 years+ experience in examination of ‘mundic’ concrete to look at this new...
Interactive Spreadsheet Reporting – Faster and Better

Interactive Spreadsheet Reporting – Faster and Better

Petrolab is pleased to announce some significant changes to its Automated Mineralogy (AM) service. Since the introduction of our AM service in 2015, we have built our reputation as a leading AM provider for the analysis of mine site and metallurgical test samples. Because we recognise that turnaround time (TAT) is increasingly important to our clients, Petrolab has invested in additional staff and equipment (a 2nd X-ray detector!) to enable more rapid preparation and analysis of samples. We have also developed an inter-active spreadsheet reporting tool – Automated Mineralogy Chart (AMC) – which will be our default format for reporting all analysis metrics. This spreadsheet tool operates as an interactive dashboard with a drop-down menu from which to choose the chart options. There are 9 possible options to select from (see Figure below), including graphing options such as bulk mineral abundance, elemental deportment or theoretical grade vs. recovery. As well as displaying the graph of choice it is possible to toggle off which samples are to be viewed side-by-side, down to and including the individual submitted size fractions. For...
Petrolab Welcomes Hannah Jenkins

Petrolab Welcomes Hannah Jenkins

Petrolab are delighted to welcome Hannah Jenkins. Hannah has a Bachelor of Science degree from Camborne School of Mines (CSM) in Applied Geology. As part of her time at CSM she was student mentor and after graduation went on the work as a Labroatory Assistant at CSM and then a data assistant at the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Growth and Skills Hub. She joins Petrolab as part of the growing sample preparation laboratory...