[en] The earliest applications and development of conventional X-ray technologies at the beginning of the last century were strongly focused on earth science materials. Over the past 20 years minerals have continued to play a central role in the development of the new generations of synchrotron radiation techniques and the range of applications of synchrotron X-ray techniques to the study of the earth sciences has grown enormously. In this article we focus on the analytical possibilities arising from the application of synchrotron X-ray radiation as opposed to conventional cathode-tube based X-ray sources, using examples drawn from mineral characterisation and mineral processing