The Elements of Innovation Discovered
Metal Tech News – April 2, 2026
Paragon Advanced Labs has paired Chrysos’ PhotonAssay and Veracio’s Scan to accelerate geochemical analysis turnaround times for British Columbia mineral explorers.
While rapid and reliable analysis of soil, rock, and drill samples is essential for any mineral exploration project, it is particularly vital in remote northern locations, where transportation routes are long and the exploration season is short. To accelerate turnaround times in British Columbia’s Golden Triangle and other locales where snow covers the geology for more than half the year, Paragon Advanced Labs has integrated two advanced analysis technologies into its B.C. facility.
“In British Columbia, time is limited each field season. If results come back too late, the opportunity to act on them is gone,” said Pargon CEO Peter Shippen. “Our focus is on getting data back fast enough to influence what happens next.”
This rapid sample-to-data turnaround begins with PhotonAssay, a cutting-edge sample analysis technology that led to Paragon’s formation in the first place.
Originally developed at Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), PhotonAssay is a mineral analysis technology being commercialized by Chrysos Corp. that uses high-energy X-rays to analyze the quantities of gold, silver, and complementary elements in as little as two minutes.
Unlike traditional fire assay techniques, PhotonAssay does not destroy the sample during analysis, a key advantage for companies that want to carry out further testing.
Major gold mining companies, such as Barrick Mining and Newmont, are among the early adopters of PhotonAssay.
Paragon was founded in 2022 to establish a global hub-and-spoke sample analysis network, where regional preparation facilities act as spokes feeding centralized PhotonAssay hubs.
The company’s new British Columbia hub pairs PhotonAssay with Veracio’s rapid, non-destructive whole-rock geochemistry scanning technology – an integration that shifts analysis from sequential lab work to a more continuous, data-driven workflow.
Veracio and its geochemical scanning technology were spun out of Boart Longyear, a Utah-based drilling services company that has been serving the mining industry for nearly 140 years. Over the past four years, a growing number of mineral exploration companies have incorporated Veracio scanners into their workflows, including projects in B.C.
While PhotonAssay delivers highly accurate analysis of gold, silver, and copper, it does not provide the broader geochemical context needed to fully interpret a rock sample.
To build that context, samples analyzed by PhotonAssay are subsequently scanned using Veracio technology, which rapidly detects a wider suite of elements. This expanded dataset offered by Paragon helps geologists identify pathfinder elements and geochemical signatures that can guide drilling and sampling strategies.
This integrated workflow reduces processing steps and delivers consistent, multi-element datasets early enough to inform decisions while exploration programs are still underway.
“Sample scanning is redefining how we explore, evaluate, and extract. It’s not a replacement for geological expertise; it’s a force multiplier,” Lori Martin, vice president of global commercial at Veracio, wrote in a column for Metal Tech News. “The future of mining belongs to those who blend human insight with real-time intelligence, and we’re building the technologies to make that future real.”
As exploration programs increasingly adopt data-driven approaches, technologies that compress the time between sampling and interpretation are becoming central to maintaining momentum in the field.
In regions like B.C, where seasonal constraints limit exploration windows, faster and more integrated geochemical analysis could translate directly into more efficient and productive mineral exploration seasons.
With more than 18 years of covering mining, Shane is renowned for his insights and in-depth analysis of mining, mineral exploration, and technology metals.
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