CRM & Battery ecosystem
CRM & Battery Ecosystem Analytical Services
X-ray Mineral Services is at the forefront of CRM and battery ecosystem analytical services, providing expertise across the full battery value chain. We are proud to be part of the multi-million-euro BATCircle project, funded by Business Finland and led by Aalto University in collaboration with the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK). This innovative research focuses on the Circular Economy of Battery Metals, aiming to create sustainable solutions and add value to the battery metals sector in Europe. By improving resource utilisation, enhancing metal refining processes, supporting efficient recycling of battery metals, and fostering collaboration between companies and research organisations, the project also identifies new collaborative business opportunities.
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End-to-end CRM and battery mineral analysis, supporting exploration, refinement, tertiary recovery, and recycling across the full value chain.
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Advanced META workflows (lab and field-based) delivering governed, AI-ready mineralogical, elemental, and textural data for process optimisation.
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Proven expertise within Europe’s battery ecosystem, combining research-led capability with commercially efficient analytical services.
Advanced Analytical Workflows for Battery Materials
As part of BATCircle, X-ray Mineral Services is developing advanced analytical workflows that position the company as a world-leading centre of excellence in CRM assessment, battery mineral exploration, battery mineral refinement and tertiary recovery. These workflows allow for comprehensive characterisation of battery minerals and critical raw materials (CRM) such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese, carbon, rare earth elements, and other essential metals including tin, tungsten, and platinum group elements. By combining mineralogical, elemental, and textural data, our methodologies enable precise process control and efficient utilisation of natural resources.
Our laboratory-based META 1 workflow integrates Rietveld-based X-ray diffraction (QXRD), petrography, Raman spectroscopy, and automated mineralogy to deliver detailed mineralogical data. Elemental analysis is conducted using XRF, ICP, LIBS, LA-ICP-MS, and AMICS, while textural data is obtained from petrography, Raman spectroscopy, AMICS, and particle size analysis. The workflow generates governed and curated AI ready data products for CRMs. This integrated approach allows us to model the relationships between minerals, elemental composition, grain size, and liberation using bespoke software such as Spotfire® and a CRM assessment data dashboard.
In parallel, the META 2 workflow provides portable, field-based analytical capabilities, enabling high-quality, real-time data collection for exploration and process control. Together, META 1 and META 2 workflows allow X-ray Mineral Services to provide flexible, cost-effective analytical services across the CRM and battery mineral ecosystem, from raw material exploration to battery mineral refinement and recycling.
Applications Across the CRM-Battery Value Chain
Our work spans exploration, mineral processing, battery production, and recycling. X-ray Mineral Services applies its advanced methodologies to the exploration of lithium, copper, nickel, cobalt, and rare earth elements in geological environments such as carbonatites, glacial tills, placer deposits, layered intrusions, and sedimentary or vein-hosted ores. Refined mineral analysis is provided for nickel, cobalt, copper, lead, zinc, PGEs, lithium, and carbon assessment.
META workflows have also been applied to legacy mine sites, industrial CRM recovery, and e-waste processing. This comprehensive approach enables clients to optimise mineral processing, enhance battery material performance, reduce waste, and support sustainable practices across the battery sector.
Expertise and Capability
X-ray Mineral Services combines the analytical capability and interpretative skills of universities and research institutions with the speed, flexibility, and commercial efficiency of a laboratory. This enables us to undertake bespoke analytical challenges that larger laboratories may not address, while delivering results within competitive timeframes and budgets.
Our team also develops CRM-battery mineral reference materials, supporting standardisation and quality assurance in analytical workflows. By integrating multidisciplinary, cross-validational characterisation with advanced data analytics, we create a detailed characterisation atlas applicable across the battery value chain.
Supporting Sustainable Battery Development
Through our META workflows, world-class analytical tools, data products, and experienced team, X-ray Mineral Services provides a comprehensive solution for battery minerals and CRM analysis. Our approach supports sustainable practices across the European battery ecosystem, helping clients achieve efficient resource use, process optimisation, and high-quality battery mineral raw materials
By combining scientific expertise, innovative workflows, and practical application, X-ray Mineral Services is shaping the future of CRM and battery ecosystem analytical services.
Spodumene Case Study
Spodumene is an unusual type of pyroxene with a lithium content that is present in commercially significant amounts (percent levels).It is one of only a few natural primary sources of lithium and is…