FEI Acquires Second Automated Mineralogy Business
Earlier this year, FEI acquired the QEMSCAN product line (see IBO 1/15/09), the main competitor to JKTech’s automated mineralogy solution. As FEI noted in its first-quarter conference call, the bundling of SEMs with software for automated mineralogy creates a higher margin product.
Hillsboro, OR 6/15/09—FEI has acquired JKTech’s Mineral Liberation Analysis (MLA) business for AUD 5 million ($4 million). JKTech is the technology transfer company for the University of Queensland’s Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Center and other Centers of the Sustainable Minerals Institute. MLA technology utilizes scanning electron microscopes (SEMs) to perform automated, targeted mineralogical analysis using grain size distributions. “FEI and JKTech have been technology partners for more than ten years—delivering MLA solutions to major natural resource companies and universities around the world,” stated Dr. Paul Scagnetti, FEI’s Industry Division vice president and general manager.
