For the last couple of years, all things in the critical minerals and gold sectors have dominated the ASX greatest hits list, particularly in a post-Donald Trump trade-war world.
Aside from the energy transition and the drive to boost defence spending, securing Western supply chains and critical minerals has become the single biggest geopolitical imperative, with almost every commodity from antimony, tungsten, rare earths and gallium having its moment in the sun.
Now, a new contender is muscling its way onto the scene in the form of the once-obscure industrial mineral, fluorspar, which has suddenly found itself at the centre of a global supply squeeze.
Until recently, you would have been hard-pressed to find a stockbroker in Australia who could tell you what fluorspar was – this one couldn’t - let alone why the world should care. That all changed when China, the world’s biggest producer – 63 per cent globally - and consumer, flipped from being a dominant exporter to a net importer, sending shockwaves through global markets and putting a rocket under the commodity.
The potential of fluorspar went on full display in 2025, when ASX-listed Tivan Limited surged to a whopping market capitalisation of over $1 billion earlier this year, largely on the back of its Speewah fluorspar project in northern Western Australia.
When a junior explorer adds that many zeroes to its valuation, people start paying attention. And now, a handful of ASX-listed hopefuls are looking to ride the same wave.
For the uninitiated, fluorspar, or “fluorite” in its mineral form, is the main source of the element fluorine – some may be familiar with its added use in water to protect teeth – which in its purest form is highly toxic and reactive. However, when harnessed industrially, it becomes a key ingredient in the most bewildering array of modern and future-facing technologies.
Calcium fluoride, at its most common, lower-grade purity, is used as a blend in steelmaking to lower melting points and remove impurities.
Moving up in purity and expense, the higher “ceramic-grade” fluorspar finds its way into enamels and even cooking utensils. However, it’s the high-purity “acid-grade” fluorspar, with over 97 per cent calcium fluoride, that has governments and tech giants scrambling.
Acid grade for use in hydrofluoric acid, a substance critical for etching semiconductors, producing advanced pharmaceuticals and even manufacturing refrigerants.
The list goes on and continues to grow in importance in the modern world. Fluorspar is also essential in processing nuclear fuel, producing high-performance military-grade aluminium and jet fuel and even plays a role lithium-ion battery.
It’s no wonder fluorspar is now classified as a critical mineral by the US, EU, Canada, Australia and Japan.
The supply-demand fundamentals are what make this story so compelling for your everyday ASX speculator.
The US military has identified it as one of nine minerals at the highest risk of shortfall in a major conflict, with the United States currently 100 per cent reliant on imports for its fluorspar needs.
China’s own internal demand is soaring, while simultaneously its production is tightening due to environmental restrictions.
The global market has become incredibly sparse, providing serious price support for the obscure commodity and sending consumers looking for long-term and stable solutions from friendly jurisdictions.
This is the playground in which a new crop of ASX explorers is now making its mark.
The original and most advanced player in the space is Tivan Limited.
Its Japanese-backed Speewah project in Western Australia boasts an impressive resource of 44.2 million tonnes at a respectable 8.3 per cent calcium fluoride. While lower-grade, the sheer scale of the deposit underpins its lofty valuation.
Last year, the company smashed out a massive 23 kilometres of drilling in support of its fast-tracked production ambitions, knocking out a feasibility study for its major Japanese partner, Sumitomo, in time for a March release this year.
The drill bit delivered some thick, shallow hits, including an impressive 45-metre hit running 26.9 per cent calcium fluoride from just 1m downhole, and an even thicker 98-metre hit at 14.9 per cent calcium fluoride.
Tivan is now marching towards a final investment decision (FID) at Speewah, targeting first production of its fluorite by 2028.
Tivan Limited executive chairman Grant Wilson said: “Our project is now confirmed as a world-class fluorite resource, rare in the western hemisphere in terms of its size, grade, depth, mineralogy and importantly, proximity to port.”
While Tivan set the pace, others have been quick to follow the money, with the tier-one mining jurisdiction of Nevada in the US becoming the new hottest property to secure some US domestic fluorspar tenure. The state is widely regarded as one of the world’s most mining-friendly jurisdictions.
OD6 Metals, previously known for its rare earths pursuits, has also come roaring back with a bang on the fluorspar train, after recently exercising its option to acquire the high-grade Quinn fluorspar project 220km north of Las Vegas.
The project’s deposits have lain dormant for over 50 years, but some clever geological sleuthing by the OD6 team, cross-referencing old reports from the 1940’s, has led to some remarkable rediscoveries.
The company says the field crew has now tracked down the legendary “Big Jim” lode, first intermittently mined in 1934 and documented in a 1947 US Geological Survey report. The rediscovery reveals a massive purple fluorspar vein exposed at the surface, estimated at around two metres wide, with visual grades of 85 to 95 per cent calcium fluoride.
To put those numbers in perspective, anything over 40 per cent calcium fluoride is considered high-grade, while grades above 85 per cent are exceptionally rare and approach direct-use quality with minimal processing.
Historic assays from Big Jim are even more outrageous, with samples returning grades of up to 98.6 per cent calcium fluoride – essentially pure fluorite.
Other historic channel samples include a 1.8m hit at an impressive 90.84 per cent calcium fluoride and another 1.5m section at 94.41 per cent calcium fluoride.
What makes the rediscovery particularly notable is that even the historical “gangue,” or waste rock, was described with grades up to 60 per cent calcium fluoride, well above what modern industry considers a viable resource.
Big Jim isn’t a one-off either. It represents the third major fluorspar system identified at the Quinn project, joining its Mammoth and Horseshoe prospects to create a compelling district-scale play.
High-grade epithermal fluorspar has also been mapped over 9,000 square metres at the Mammoth prospect, where no historical drilling has been completed, although surface rock chips have returned up to 80 per cent calcium fluoride.
The market certainly likes the look of it, sending OD6’s stock up more than 300 per cent since acquisition.
With assays pending and drill permitting underway, things could get interesting quickly.
Not to be left out and next on the bandwagon is graphite developer Evion Group, which has also pivoted into the Nevada fluorspar boom, acquiring the historic Carp project. The project has previously produced 44,900 tonnes of material at an eye-watering average grade of 69 per cent calcium fluoride. Evion says this was achieved solely through simple crushing. The move adds another string to Evion’s critical minerals bow, which already includes a graphite JV in India and a graphite project in Madagascar.
The company’s timing looks sharp, coming just months after the US Department of Defence inked a US$168.9 million (A$240M) deal with Canadian-listed Ares Strategic Mining for a domestic source of the mineral in Utah, signalling just how serious Washington is about onshoring its supply.
Meanwhile, a new front is opening up in Canada. Mont Royal Resources, another ASX-listed junior, recently confirmed high-grade fluorspar at its Mallard prospect, just 1.4km from its flagship Ashram rare earths and fluorspar deposit in Québec.
A review of historical drilling at what is now called the Flux Fluorite Zone returned standout grades, including 24.8m at 35.8 per cent calcium fluoride and 32.4m at 26.1 per cent calcium fluoride. The mineralisation remains open and management says it’s encouraged by the prospect’s similarities to its nearby Ashram deposit, which is already one of the world’s largest undeveloped fluorspar resources.
The local demand is also compelling, with Quebec’s own massive aluminium industry consuming up to 200,000 tonnes of CaF2 equivalent each year.
From a little-known industrial mineral to a strategic prize at the centre of a geopolitical supply squeeze, fluorspar’s rise has been rapid. Tivan showed the market what’s possible when you have a world-class deposit in a tier-one jurisdiction.
Now, with a new breed of explorers like OD6 Metals and Evion Group unearthing incredibly high-grade historical projects in the US, and Mont Royal adding a Canadian dimension, the race is on.
For a market that loves a good critical minerals story, it looks like fluorspar might just be the next big chapter.
