• English
  • Finnish
  • English
  • Finnish

Battery Minerals & CRM

Battery Minerals & CRM

X-ray Mineral Services is currently working with the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) on a 22 M€ Business Finland initiative, led by Aalto University, involving research into the Circular Economy of Battery Metals – “BATCircle”. The key objective of the BATCircle project is to find ways of adding value to the battery metals sector. This will be achieved by more efficient screening and utilisation of mineral resources, enhancement of the metal refining processes, more efficient recycling of battery metals, improved co-operation between companies and research organisations, as well as through the identification of new collaborative business opportunities. X-ray Mineral Services is developing new analytical workflows that will allow us to become a world-leading centre of excellence to grade raw materials and process control products in battery mineral exploration and battery material production.

  • Innovative use of XRD & XRF in battery mineral exploration and production
  • META 1 Lab based workflow
  • META 2 Field based workflow

The aim of X-ray Mineral Services Finland is to develop a more effective way of characterising battery materials, including Li, Ni, Co, Cu, Mn, C, REE and other critical raw materials (CRM), in the context of exploration and mineral processing response, which leads to a more efficient use of natural resources. The project involves a geometallurgical experimental and analytical procedure for related battery minerals that allows for process characterization on drill core-scale samples to be validated with case studies. In addition, X-ray Mineral Services Finland is involved in research into refined metals, materials and e-waste. We are developing new laboratory (META1) and portable (META2) analytical capabilities and contributing to the establishment of a new suite of battery mineral value chain reference materials.

It is essential that multi-disciplinary cross validational characterisation involving Mineralogical, Elemental and Textural data are collected and modelled using data Analytics (META) to underpin a characterisation atlas that can be applied along the battery value chain. X-ray Mineral Services Finland has the ability to provide this analytical tool box and modelling in Spotfire®.

META 1 includes QXRD based on our expertise in Rietveld-based XRD, which can be supported by petrography, Raman spectroscopy and Automated Mineralogy (SEM-EDX)® for mineralogical data. Elemental data is based on XRF, ICP, LIBS and Automated Mineralogy (SEM-EDX)®, LA-ICP-MS and textural analysis data can be acquired from petrography, Automated Mineralogy (SEM-EDX)®, Raman spectroscopy, and laser particle size analysis. We can combine these data and model the relationships between minerals, elements, grain-size and liberation in bespoke software such as Spotfire®.

We have the analytical capability and interpretative skills of universities and technical institutions, along with the ability to complete projects in commercial time frames with competitive prices. We also have the flexibility to undertake bespoke analytical challenges that may not be of interest to larger commercial laboratories.

This development work includes but is not limited to:

  • sample preparation
  • mineral calibrations
  • modelling spectral interferences in unusual matrix types
  • developing data QC procedures
  • undertaking mineral validation analyses
CASE STUDIES
Sand from the Sahara

Sand from the Sahara

Record-breaking temperatures in recent weeks were due to warm air being pushed up from low latitude, bringing with it a plume of dust arising from wind storms in the Sahara. The plume even reached…