Fluorite - an industrial mineral coming onto the radar

Markets drifted in what was a rather uneventful week, if you consider the Iran War has been going through a repetitive phase of threats from the USA, dismissals by Iran, and just enough missiles to remind us that there is still a war going on. The intensity has been lowered as the contestants have been focussing on shipping activity - blockages and other related matters - but without any clear line of sight to the end of the troubles.

As each week passes we see more and more unexpected consequences. Going straight to the bottom line, they are further demonstrations of what to expect as we continue down the path of de-globalisation.

What we have now is less efficient than globalisation, but it works well for our resources sector. It emphasises that countries cannot afford to simply rely on global co-operation to be properly resourced going forward. It is every country for itself, and as far as Australia is concerned, probably the most competent resource explorer and developer in the world, we are increasingly becoming more important to countries with respect to satisfying commodity demand and and mining expertise.

Fluorite ore is essentially the source rock for industrial fluorspar products, including acid grade fluorspar used as the primary feedstock in the production of hydrofluoric acid. It is an industrial mineral that is important, but hardly sexy, even when you consider its use in EV batteries. Nevertheless it has been attracting interest because it has been added to the list of critical minerals. Tivan is the main fluorite hopeful on the ASX 

 WeeklyComm25April2026.pdf