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Critical resource map

Exposure
← Overview

industrial

Fluorspar

Significant US mine production has not been reported since 1995.

Country panel

Import reliance
100%2025 — USGS MCS 2026, 2025
Top import partners
No dataPartner shares are published for the United States in USGS MCS 2026; other viewers are No data in v1.

Global totals

Reserve life
known reserves cover ~33 years at current production

Concentration

  • China 58.6%
  • Mexico 14.7%
  • Mongolia 14.6%

Production share

  1. China58.6%
  2. Mexico14.7%
  3. Mongolia14.6%
  4. South Africa4.0%
  5. Other countries2.0%
  6. Vietnam1.6%
  7. Spain1.4%
  8. Brazil1.0%
  9. Iran0.7%
  10. Thailand0.5%
  11. Pakistan0.5%
  12. Germany0.3%
  13. Tajikistan0.1%

Colour scale is colour-blind-safe sand to rust. Grey means no listed figure. “Other countries” is not drawn. On small screens the map is a ranked list.

Top producers

Share of listed production versus share of listed reserves.

Table alternative to the bar chart
CountryProductionReserves
China58.6%33.4%
Mexico14.7%20.6%
Mongolia14.6%10.3%
South Africa4%12.4%
Other countries2%9.7%
Vietnam1.6%4.9%
Spain1.4%4.5%
Brazil1%0.8%
Iran0.7%2.3%
Thailand0.5%1.1%

Uses

  • Acid-grade fluorspar for anhydrous hydrogen fluoride, the feedstock for fluorine chemicals, refrigerants and fluoropolymers. 2025
  • Metallurgical flux in aluminium and steel. 2025

Recycling

Not quantified by USGS for fluorspar.

Substitution

Fluorosilicic acid has been used as an alternative in some AlF3 and HF production.

Sources