Book excerpt: This book has developed from a short residential course organised by the Department of Minerals Engineering and the Department of Extra Mural Studies of the University of Birmingham. The course was concerned mainly with physical methods of analysis of minerals and mineral products, and particular regard was given to 'non-destructive' methods, with special emphasis on newly available techniques but with a review of older methods and their recent developments included therein. Mineral analysis is obviously of great importance in all the stages of mineral exploration, processing, and utilisation. Selection of a method for a particular mineral or mineral product will depend upon a number of factors, primarily whether an elementary analysis or a phase or structure analysis is required. It will also depend upon the accuracy required. The chapters in the book covering the different methods show the range of useful applicability of the methods considered and should prove valuable as an aid or methods for a given set of circumstances. in selecting a suitable method The book, referring as it does to the majority of the instrumental methods available today (as well as, for comparison, a useful contribution on the place of classical wet chemical analysis) will be valuable to the student as well as to those analysts, research workers, and process engineers who are concerned with the winning, processing, and utilisation of minerals and mineral products.