The size of materials being processed in an operation is very important. Having oversize material being conveyed will cause damage to equipment and slow down production.  Particle-size analysis also helps the effectiveness of SAG Mills when crushing material.
In the building industry, the particle size can directly affect the strength of the final material, as it observed for cement. Two of the most used techniques used for the particle size characterization of minerals are sieving and laser diffraction. These techniques are faster and cheaper compared to image-based techniques.