The technology, developed by CSIRO, reduces the time it takes to analyse a drilling sample from up to 48 hours to less than 10 minutes. The photon assay process combines speed with a high degree of reliability and is an alternative to the traditional fire assay process.

Not only does the process offer a chemistry-free approach to material analysis that gives accurate results in minutes, it also delivers higher accuracy than fire assays, with significantly reduced sample preparation.

"For Australian mining companies, this technology delivers such a fast turnaround that has never been available to the market before, and does so with less sample preparation and in a non-destructive fashion," said Andrew Broad, Ausdrill's chief operating officer - Australia.

"This opens up a whole range of possibilities for our clients to review their processes to take advantage of the accessibility to results, which ultimately will deliver cost savings to their business."

While gold is currently the focus for the technology, it may be used to analyse other minerals in the future.