History

Accurassay Laboratories began operations in 1982 in Kirkland Lake, Ontario.  Dr. George Duncan, who founded the lab, wanted to provide the Northeastern Ontario exploration industry with a local lab service, one offering high quality analysis and quick turnaround.  The name Accurassay was intentionally created to represent the goal of providing Accurate assays.  An expert in mineral analysis, Dr. Duncan quickly won the trust of local geologists and the business began to grow.

Growth continued throughout the mid-1980s as investment in exploration in Canada reached record levels.  At its peak, Accurassay employed approximately 45 people and in 1987 was recognized by the Northern Ontario Business Awards as Company of the Year (16-50 employees), the first year such an award was issued.

It was around this time that Accurassay opened its doors for business in Thunder Bay, Ontario to provide full-service mineral analysis to Northwestern Ontario exploration as well.  Various sample prep facilities were opened to feed the labs including Red Lake, Pickle Lake and Timmins.  Accurassay also ran a contract lab facility on the Caribbean island of Aruba for a short while.  However, the good times were to be short lived as it wasn’t long after this that the exploration industry in Canada experienced a severe shrinking in the wake of the stock market crash in 1987.  Accurassay was forced to rationalize its operations and prepare for slower times.

To survive, Accurassay branched out into the field of environmental testing to supplement the weak and sporadic sales in the mineral analysis business.  It was slow at first, but over time, the environmental work grew and eventually it became big enough that it was a business in its own right.  So, in the mid 1990s the decision was made to make the Kirkland Lake laboratory exclusively environmental analysis and Thunder Bay would assume all of the mineral analysis. Throughout the remainder of the 1990s and up until 2004 the labs operated in this fashion.  Mineral analysis continued to be weak as the exploration industry suffered from very little investment, and the environmental analysis business continued to grow.

However, 2003 saw the return of investment interest in mineral exploration in Canada, and it wasn’t long before mineral analysis was expanding rapidly.  The growth of mineral analysis presented Accurassay with a strategic choice about which market to pursue, and therefore in 2004 Accurassay made the choice to sell the environmental business and focus exclusively on mineral analysis.

Since that time, Accurassay has opened new satellite sample preparation facilities and has plans for more.  Production capacity continues to grow and we are excited about the future.  We continue to strive to provide our customers with the best service in the industry while maintaining the highest quality result.