Abstract: When x-ray fluorescence (“XRF”) spectroscopy is utilized to classify materials transported on a moving conveyor belt, there is the possibility of the x-ray beam only partially irradiating the material piece, which can result in the capture of an inaccurate XRF spectrum needed to classify the material piece. This can lead to an improper (erroneous) classification and resultant sortation of material pieces (e.g., aluminum alloys). In a material handling system, the area of the intersections between the x-ray beam spots from an x-ray fluorescence system and the material pieces are measured and correspondingly used to correct the measured XRF spectrum associated with each material piece. The material pieces can then be sorted according to the corrected XRF spectrum.