The early years of this decade have seen a gradual growth in world demand for fluorspar as well as significant price rises for acid-grade material. The market is recovering from the impact of the phasing-out of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and is responding to their replacement by more ozone-friendly and also more fluorspar dependant products. Production of fluorspar fell to a low of 3.6Mt in 1994 in response to the restrictions imposed by the Montreal protocol on the use of fluorocarbons, particularly CFCs in refrigerant gases, aerosol propellants and foam blowing agents. Production has not yet recovered to the peak of 5.48Mt in 1989 but since 1995 there has been some stabilisation and output has remained between 4.2 - 4.5Mt since 1997. With the rapid reduction in world output in the early 1990s there was considerable rationalisation of production and many mines closed. However, the recent fall in exports of fluorspar concentrates from China and the envisaged modest growth in the market has resulted in some increases in production in Mexico, Mongolia and Iran. There are several proposals for new mine operations, including developments of deposits in Vietnam and Western Australia, and the re-opening of Burin mine in Canada. Overall requirement for fluorspar is expected to rise to 5Mt by 2030 and acid-grade will account for around 3.5Mt of this total. This represents an average annual growth rate of just under 0.5% for fluorspar as a whole and 0.9%pa for acid grade.
The key trends, issues and developments in the market are now analysed in this major new report from Roskill. It provides a clear insight into all areas of the industry and an authoritative analysis of the prospects for the future.
What this report gives you:
- Independent, in-depth research and analysis
- Essential market intelligence for successful business planning
- Detailed survey of production in 55 countries
- Up-to-date profi les of over 50 past and current producing companies and their activities, including Cia Minera Las Cuevas, Kenya Fluorspar Co., Jinhua Dongfang Fluorspar Co and Sogerem
- Forecasts for end-use consumption & world supply & demand
A valuable resource for:
- Chief executives
- Strategic planners
- Market researchers
- Financial analysts
- Information centres
- Product developers
Report Highlights
- The chemical industry is the largest user of fluorspar. Some 1.8Mt were consumed in this sector in 2003 with 50% going in to the manufacture of fluorocarbons, mainly for refrigerants and foam blowing; and the remainder into other chemical applications such as PTFE and other fluoropolymers, petroleum alkylation, glass and a range of medical, agricultural, metallurgical and other applications. Demand for fluorspar in the manufacture of fluoropolymers and fluoroelastomers is strong and is likely to grow at over 5%pa to 2006.
- Another major application for fluorspar is in aluminium manufacture, which will continue to grow in response to increased output of aluminium, although growth will be limited in response to a decline in unit use, driven by improved smelting technology, increased recycling of fluorine and some substitution by AlF3 derived from fluosilic acid. Nevertheless a 20% increase in use is envisaged by 2030.
- The USA, Japan and Canada have traditionally been the three major consuming countries though none of these actually has a domestic source of fluorspar. The USA and Canada closed their last mines in 1993 and Japan has no resources. For this reason over 50% of fluorspar is traded internationally. China, the worlds largest producer of fluorspar, with 51% of world output, is now also becoming one of the major consumers.
- Acid-grade fluorspar prices were low throughout the 1990s as a result of the rapid decrease in world demand coupled with a surge in exports of low-price concentrates from China. Following the closure of a number of mines and the introduction of anti-dumping measures against Chinese acid-grade fluorspar exports, the supply/demand balance began to normalise. This prompted the Chinese government to introduce a system of export quotas and tariffs, which further helped to stabilise the market in the late 1990s, and prices recovered. By 2004 the average value of imports from China were at the highest level since 1990. At the beginning of 2005 the quoted price for fluorspar cif US ports had reached US$225-235/t.
Sources and Methodology
- This report is the result of an extensive programme of research by Roskill analysts. They have conducted a close appraisal ofinformation from a wide variety of sources, including governments, trade associations, company sources, official organisations, trade journals and technical literature.
- Information gathering is only the first step in preparing a report. The data is then extensively analysed so that the finished report provides a comprehensive insight into the industry today, as well as top-level analysis of the long-term prospects.
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