Fluorite (fluorspar) is the mineral form of calcium fluoride, CaF2. It is an important industrial mineral, an essential raw material for the steel, aluminum and chemical industries in two marketable products: acid-spar grade and met-spar grade. Metspar (>60% CaF2), which accounts for about 35-40% of the global fluorspar market, is mainly used as a flux in the steelmaking process to lower the melting temperature.
Acid-spar (>97% CaF2), accounting for roughly 60-65% of the market is mostly used to synthesize hydrofluoric acid (HF), the primary source of all fluorochemicals, including: aluminium fluoride, used as bath regulator in aluminium smelting process; fluorocarbons e.g. refrigerant gases, propellants, etc; electrical and electronic appliances; pharmaceuticals, polymers and agrochemicals; petrochemical catalysts.
Due to its strategic importance and the lack of reserves Fluorspar has been included by EU in the Critical Raw Material List since the first CRMs list was published in 2011.
