A programme of crystal growing has been in progress in the Mineral Sciences Division of the Mines Branch, as part of a Sulphide Research Programme, during the past six years. During this time, the growth of crystals of about fifty materials has been attempted in the field of sulphides, arsenides and sulpharsenides of Fe, Co, Ni, Zn and Cu, and with some other compounds, many of them quite successfully, by one or more of the six growth techniques explored. This report is Part I of an intended five parts, and will deal with the "Background to Crystal Growth" as it applied to the current Sulphide Research Programme.