The first test for the methodology to pass is to show that using directed swapping is appropriate for swapping cations in spinel structures. To test the ChemDASH swapping, the BVS and random ranking methods are used on MnFe 2 O 4 and ZnFe 2 O 4 starting from fully inverse cationic configurations. These calculations are presented in Figure . For MnFe 2 O 4 the ground state normal spinel structure is found after 36 steps using the BVS ranking method with most structures lower in energy than the starting structure. For the random swapping the ground state structure is not found in 100 steps. There is a broad range of energies in the structures sampled and many of these are higher in energy than the starting structure. The mean relative energies for the BVS and random swapping runs are 17.8 and 42.0 meV atom -1 respectively showing the bias towards lower energy structures when the BVS method is used. For ZnFe 2 O 4 the ground state structure is not found for either BVS or random swapping runs. This is most likely due to the lack of octahedral site preference for Zn. The mean relative energies for BVS and random swapping runs are 21.6 and 28.8 meV atom -1 again showing the bias towards lower energy structures. These tests show that the BVS ranking method in ChemDASH outperforms random swapping in this set-up and is used throughout the rest of the work presented herein.