# Mineralytics - Synchrotron XRD mineralogy for mining, from ground samples to quantified mineralogy > Mineralytics is a mineral analysis company based in Espoo, Finland. Its service is synchrotron X-ray diffraction (SR-XRD) mineralogy at programme scale: quantitative XRD (QXRD) on the pulps that went for assay. The customer sends ground samples (pulps), Mineralytics prepares them, measures them at a synchrotron beamline with its beamline partners and quantifies every mineral phase by Rietveld refinement on Mintti, its own analysis system, with the chemistry back-calculated from the mineralogy so each sample can be reconciled with its assay. Campaigns of thousands of samples are routine, and a campaign can be as large as the customer needs. Phase identification and Rietveld quantification from a customer's existing laboratory XRD data is available as a secondary service. ## Company - Name: Mineralytics - Website: https://mineralytics.fi - Location: EriCa Green Chemistry Park, Malleniuksenkatu 1, 02270 Espoo, Finland - Founders: Mika Kortelainen (CEO) and Linda Kortelainen (co-founder, lead geologist) - Industry: mining, exploration, mineralogy, quantitative XRD - Languages: English (complete), Finnish (main pages) - Serves customers worldwide. Samples are accepted from anywhere and results are delivered digitally ## The SR-XRD service Terms in use for the same method: quantitative XRD (QXRD) measured at a synchrotron, SR-XRD, S-XRD, synchrotron XRD, synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction (SR-XRPD), high-throughput synchrotron XRD. A synchrotron is a particle accelerator that produces extremely bright X-rays. Mineralytics does not own a synchrotron. Measurements are done with its beamline partners. Process: 1. Scope and beamtime are scheduled as one project. Beamtime is booked in advance and is the main calendar variable. 2. The customer sends ground samples. About 10 g per sample is a comfortable amount, although the measurement itself uses only milligrams. The rest is returned on request. Mineralytics works from pulps. Grinding of core, chips or coarse rejects to pulp can be arranged and is quoted separately. 3. Mineralytics prepares the samples for the beamline, about 1,000 samples per day, scaling with people. 4. Measurement at a synchrotron beamline with Mineralytics' beamline partners: about 7 seconds per sample, 8,000 to 10,000 samples per day when a campaign runs uninterrupted. Small pilots share beamtime with other work. 5. Phase identification and Rietveld quantification on Mintti: thousands of samples quantified in hours, first results typically within a day of the data arriving, then reviewed with the customer. 6. An expert mineralogist reviews the results, and they are then gone through with the customer's geologists before final delivery as a data package (Excel and CSV) with a summary report. Timeline: from samples received to results delivered is typically about five weeks, most of it waiting for the beamline slot. Deliverable, per sample: - Quantified mineral phases with confidence metrics and intervals - Full Rietveld refinement with fit and residuals - The evidence behind each phase selection - Back-calculated chemistry for comparison with assays - Hypothesis tests across the whole set: is a specific mineral present, sample by sample - Every result reviewed by an expert mineralogist before delivery Capabilities: trace and minor phases, detected and quantified below 1 % as a rule, and very small traces with proper grinding, internal standards and controls; poorly crystalline and amorphous material, quantified with PONKCS and internal standards; overlapping peaks and polymorphs; complex assemblages with many phases. Samples are kept in motion during measurement, which suppresses preferred orientation. Where it fits: exploration (which mineral holds the metal, on the pulps that went for assay, in time for the next decision); feasibility studies (every mineral in every sample, variability samples and composites included, with the per-sample record available to the Qualified Person reviewing the testwork); operating mines (a higher-precision reference set for calibrating and auditing on-site instruments); tailings and waste rock (extractive waste characterisation: the mineralogy of tailings and waste rock, the minerals that hold elements of concern, trace phases earlier work missed). Pricing: the per-sample price falls as the order grows. Setting up a beamline run takes about the same effort for fifty samples as for five thousand, so the more of a programme is measured, the less each sample costs. A project of 50 samples costs 5,000 EUR, which is 100 EUR per sample. A project of 250 samples costs 10,000 EUR, which is 40 EUR per sample. Above 250 samples the price per sample keeps falling and those projects are quoted per project. Sets below 50 samples and trial batches are priced case by case. The price includes preparation from the customer's pulps, the measurement with Mineralytics' beamline partners, quantification of every phase on Mintti with confidence intervals and the evidence for each phase, back-calculated chemistry for comparison with assays, a review of the results with the customer's geologists, and the data package with a summary report. Quantification of the amorphous fraction with an internal standard is an add-on. Grinding to pulp is quoted separately and shipping is not included. Prices are in euros, excluding VAT, and apply to 2026 orders. ## Mintti Mintti is Mineralytics' own analysis system, built for high-resolution, high-throughput diffraction data. Phase identification is deterministic and auditable: each phase is chosen on pattern fit, paragenetic viability and regional mineral likelihood, and the reasoning is logged. Quantification is by full Rietveld refinement with confidence intervals on every phase. Mintti's speed comes from parallel computing, optimised algorithms and appropriate hardware, including high-end GPUs. It is why analysis takes days instead of weeks or months, even for thousands of samples. ## Validation Mineralytics validated its pipeline on about 350 drill-core samples from a lithium pegmatite deposit in south-west Finland (samples from the Geological Survey of Finland drill-core archive), comparing back-calculated chemistry with published assays. A validation page and an example per-sample deliverable are being published on the site. ## Frequently asked questions Q: What do I need to send? A: Ground powder. About 10 g per sample is a comfortable amount, although the measurement itself uses only milligrams, and the rest is returned on request. Mineralytics works from pulps. Grinding of core or chips to pulp can be arranged and is quoted separately. Q: How long does it take? A: Sample preparation and analysis each take days, and measurement at the beamline is fast once the slot comes. Beamtime is booked in advance, so from samples received to results delivered is typically about five weeks. Q: How many samples can Mineralytics handle? A: Campaigns of thousands of samples are routine, and a campaign can be as large as the customer needs. A 50,000-sample programme is about a week at the beamline. Measurement runs at 8,000 to 10,000 samples per day when a campaign runs uninterrupted, preparation at about 1,000 per day and scales with people, and Mintti quantifies thousands of samples in hours, so first results typically arrive within a day of the data reaching Mineralytics, generally about five weeks from dispatch depending on the volume and the next beamtime. Sets below 50 samples and trial batches are priced case by case. Q: What about amorphous or poorly ordered phases? A: Synchrotron data resolves poorly crystalline material considerably better than laboratory XRD. Where amorphous content matters, Mineralytics quantifies it with PONKCS and internal standards. Q: How does Mineralytics know the results are right? A: Every result carries its evidence: the reasoning behind each phase selection, a confidence interval on every percentage, the full Rietveld fit and residuals, and back-calculated chemistry, so each sample can be reconciled with its assay. An expert mineralogist reviews every result before delivery. Q: How much does XRD analysis cost per sample? A: A project of 50 samples costs 5,000 EUR, which is 100 EUR per sample. A project of 250 samples costs 10,000 EUR, which is 40 EUR per sample. Above 250 samples the price per sample keeps falling and is quoted per project. Sets below 50 samples and trial batches are priced case by case. Prices exclude VAT and apply to 2026 orders. What the price includes is listed under Pricing above. Q: What is the difference between synchrotron XRD and laboratory XRD? A: The physics is the same, the X-ray source is not. A synchrotron is a particle accelerator whose X-rays are orders of magnitude brighter than a laboratory X-ray tube, with an angular resolution that separates peaks a laboratory diffractometer blurs together. Lookalike minerals and minor phases that merge on a laboratory pattern come apart, and a sample is measured in seconds. Customers do not apply for beamtime or travel: Mineralytics books it with its beamline partners as part of the project. Q: Is XRD analysis quantitative? A: It can be, and Mineralytics' is. Rietveld refinement of the whole pattern gives how much of each mineral there is, in weight percent. Every phase reported is quantified with a confidence interval, and the chemistry back-calculated from those numbers is checked against the customer's assays. Q: How does XRD compare with XRF? A: XRF measures which elements are in a sample. XRD identifies which minerals those elements sit in, and how much of each. Lithium does not show on XRF at all, and whether it sits in spodumene or petalite changes how it can be recovered. The chemistry back-calculated from the mineralogy gives element oxides that compare directly with XRF or other assay data. Q: Does Mineralytics analyse XRD data a customer already has? A: Yes. Phase identification and Rietveld quantification from the customer's own laboratory XRD data is available as a secondary service. Q: What is Mintti? A: Mineralytics' own analysis system for high-resolution, high-throughput diffraction data. It is the reason phase selection is deterministic and auditable and thousands of samples are quantified in hours. Q: Can Mineralytics analyse samples from any geographic region? A: Yes. Samples are accepted from anywhere in the world, and results are delivered digitally. ## Pages - [Homepage](https://mineralytics.fi/en) - [SR-XRD](https://mineralytics.fi/en/services) - [Who it's for](https://mineralytics.fi/en/mining-processes): exploration, feasibility studies, operating mines, tailings and waste - [Company](https://mineralytics.fi/en/company) - [Founders](https://mineralytics.fi/en/company#founders) - [Articles](https://mineralytics.fi/en/blog) - [Contact](https://mineralytics.fi/en/contact) ## Articles - [Introduction to Minerals](https://mineralytics.fi/en/blog/introduction-to-minerals) - [Understanding X-ray Radiation](https://mineralytics.fi/en/blog/understanding-x-ray-radiation) - [The Science That's Been Under Our Feet All Along](https://mineralytics.fi/en/blog/science-under-our-feet) - [Why is accurate mineralogy important and where does it fail?](https://mineralytics.fi/en/blog/accurate-mineralogy-and-where-it-fails) - [What quantitative XRD costs per sample](https://mineralytics.fi/en/blog/what-quantitative-xrd-costs-per-sample): 50 samples 100 EUR per sample (5,000 EUR), 250 samples 40 EUR per sample (10,000 EUR), lower above that; what the price includes and four worked situations. Finnish version: https://mineralytics.fi/fi/blog/what-quantitative-xrd-costs-per-sample ## Contact - [Contact page](https://mineralytics.fi/en/contact) - Email: [contact@mineralytics.fi](mailto:contact@mineralytics.fi) - [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/mineralytics)