How strong quality control can supercharge your critical mineral mining operations

The energy transition is driving up demand for critical minerals. According to the International Energy Agency, lithium demand rose by nearly 30% in 2024, while demand for nickel, cobalt, and graphite also increased by 6–8%. However, mining companies face significant challenges when trying to meet these expectations.

Our Critical Minerals Expert webinar series is here to help. Our experts will explain how effective quality control can eliminate downstream processing issues, safeguard recovery rates, and protect profitability.

In the first episode, Malvern Panalytical experts Uwe König and Matteo Pernechele explained how effective elemental and mineralogical analysis with X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy work together to improve processes throughout mining and manufacturing. Here’s our recap.

Key takeaways

1. Decreasing ore grades and the increasing complexity and remoteness of critical minerals mines threaten to increase costs and sabotage recovery rates for mining companies.
2. Effective quality control (QC) and process control are essential for tailoring your processes to your ores and safeguarding productivity and profitability.
3. By combining elemental analysis using XRF and mineralogical analysis using XRD, you can fine-tune your processes faster, and Malvern Panalytical offers a suite of solutions to help.

“All of the mining companies I work with are experiencing lower-grade [ores], and a lower grade means less profitability, meaning they have to mine much more material and generate much more waste to record the same amount of elements.”

Matteo Pernechele

The importance of quality control in a changing supply chain

The critical minerals supply chain is under increasing pressure as geopolitical turbulence pushes countries around the world to find viable deposits and reduce dependence on foreign trade. However, there are two key challenges:

1. Ore grades are declining, driving up costs and waste generation for mining companies and threatening their profitability.
2. The ores are also becoming increasingly complex, requiring increasingly tailored and intensive process steps to deliver the same results.

One consequence of this, Matteo explained, is that single-sensor QC processes no longer cut it. When ore quality was higher, grade control alone might have been enough, but now, you need multiple sensors to fully characterize your materials and determine the correct extraction techniques and processing steps to deliver quality results.

He gave the example of lithium mining. Lithium can be found in spodumene or lepidolite minerals. Spodumene requires high-temperature roasting, followed by acid or alkaline leaching; lepidolite is processed at lower temperatures but often requires stronger chemical leaching.

Failing to adjust your processes to the mineralogy of these materials could lead you to lose lithium, resulting in a low or even zero recovery rate. At the very least, you could waste money by using too many reagents.

To keep costs down and recovery up, you need a robust, multi-sensor QC approach – and that’s where XRF and XRD come in.

Optimizing quality and process control with XRF and XRD

XRF and XRD have applications in QC and process control throughout the mining and manufacturing process. Matteo presented numerous case studies demonstrating their effectiveness, followed by an overview of the mining and manufacturing process from Uwe.

One example of the complementary strengths of XRF and XRD is during exploration. Our powerful handheld XRF analyzers from SciAps provide fast, accurate elemental analysis, letting you know which elements are present, where, and in what concentrations. Compact, lab-based XRD with our Aeris instrument then provides the supporting mineralogical information necessary to tailor your processes to your ores.

Another example Matteo gave is determining the Bond Working Index (BWI) of your ores. BWI represents the energy required to grind an ore down to your required particle size; this can be predicted with XRD in just five minutes, compared to conventional methods, which can take up to one day to return a sample.

This enables real-time decision-making and process optimization. Furthermore, all of the instruments we’ve mentioned are compact and compatible with automation. This helps mining companies surmount these challenges even as mines are becoming more remote.

The future of critical minerals mining and processing

Pressure is mounting on mining companies to deliver high-quality critical minerals to fuel the energy and digital transition. The difficulties in delivering these outcomes are increasing as well.

However, with a strong QC process powered by XRF and XRD analysis, mining companies can prevent processing issues and keep up with demand. They can even connect their instruments for added efficiency.

Don’t miss out the next episode of the Critical Minerals Expert series on August 28! Sign up for the session that suits your time zone:

Do you have any questions about the topics discussed during this webinar? Please contact one of our friendly experts!

Further reads

• How strong quality control can supercharge your critical mineral mining operations
• What is manganese, and how is it used in sustainable infrastructure and energy storage?
• What are rare-earth elements? A guide to REE mining and analysis
• 6 Precious metal analysis methods using advanced analytical technologies
• Optimizing XRD throughput with the Aeris High-Capacity Sample Changer: Key insights from our webinar