Fluorspar project development is receiving another boost this year with a raft of project updates and new players seeking to join the critical mineral bandwagon for fluorspar.
Across the board trends include a preference for historical fluorspar mining districts, much interest from Australian mineral developers, especially in North America, and often fluorspar as a co- or by-product to another critical material target, eg. rare earths, vanadium.
Title Image Coming together The new metspar lump plant at Ares Strategic Mining’s Lost Sheep Fluorspar project, Nevada, is undergoing commissioning and ramping up phase; Inset top right: Technical Director, John Levings, AEF Corp. makes structural measurements at the Sadler prospect, Fluorite Ridge Project, New Mexico; Inset bottom right: Crude ore extraction at Cheberen 2 pit, as Sofax Kenya Fluorspar assesses reviving operations at Kerio Valley, Kimwarer. Images courtesy: Areas Strategic Mining, AEF Corp., Sofax Kenya Fluorspar.
Here we review some project highlights of the year to date in Australia, the Americas, and Africa (see below).
This comes ahead of the industry’s premium event, IMFORMED’s Fluorine Forum 2026, Baveno, Lake Maggiore (Milan), 24-26 October, where many of these potential entrants to the market will be presenting and networking with the leading lights of fluorine raw material suppliers and buyers.
Don’t miss hearing about the latest progress from potential new supply sources
FINAL WEEK EARLY BIRD RATES, END 14 SEPTEMBER – BOOK NOW!
On the Programme at Fluorine Forum 2026
Introducing Australia’s first fluorite source: the Speewah Fluorite Project
Grant Wilson, Executive Chairman, Tivan Ltd, Australia
Redevelopment of fluorspar mining in Northern Europe (UK & Germany)
Peter Robinson, Managing Director, Fluorspar Ventures Ltd, UK & Konstantin Deichsel, Manager Business Development, Deutsche Flussspat GmbH, Germany
Lost Sheep Fluorspar Mine Project, USA: latest progress on imminent supply to market
Niklas Lüdemann, Head of Business Development, Cremer Erzkontor GmbH, Germany
Hicks Dome: an unconventional fluorspar deposit for future critical minerals markets
Laurence M. Nuelle, Vice President of Critical Minerals Development, Hicks Dome, LLC, USA
Illinois-Kentucky Fluorspar Project: fast tracking acidspar production in the USA
John Lee, CEO, CleanTech Vanadium Mining Corp., CanadaPLUS: Themed & hosted Roundtables for informal networking & discussion:
NEW SOURCES/PROJECTS | GLOBAL SUPPLY/LOGISTICS | PFAS/FLUOROCHEMICALS | METALLURGICAL MARKETS
Project Review
ARGENTINA
Argentina has been an intermittent small scale producer of fluorspar, around 4,800 tpa. Over the years there has been occasional speculation as to the further development of fluorspar resources, and this appears to be undergoing a revival at present although all current projects remain at early stages of development.
Sierra Grande, in south-east Río Negro province, hosts significant fluorspar resources, while elsewhere fluorspar resources have been reported in Córdoba, Chubut, La Rioja and Santiago del Estero provinces.
Fluorita Córdoba SA, established for about 50 years, operates the Cerros Negros fluorspar mine, located west of Río de Los Sauces, Córdoba, using flotation to produce acid and ceramic grades.
Reported in March 2026, the Delta Fluorite Project (also known as the “Delta XXI” mining project), at Sierra Grande, is apparently entering a new phase of studies driven by JG Fluorita SA, owned by Hanaq Group, aimed at determining the deposit’s potential and evaluating a possible return to production (a mine was operating there until the 1970s). Drilling and surface monitoring are underway.
The Delta Fluorite Project includes 11 mining concessions in Sierra Grande, Rio Negro, and 5 in Chubut. Measured resources are reported as: Delta vein 3.86m tonnes @ 52% CaF2, Guanacote vein 2.55m tonnes @ 48% CaF2.
According to Panorama Minero, other projects include: Secitam Córdoba advancing the Gumersindo and Flamenco projects in Chubut; and Minetti, through Michelotti Servicios Mineros, developing a fluorite deposit in La Rioja province.
AUSTRALIA
Dynamic Metals
Dynamic Metals is progressing its Meentheena fluorspar project, in the Pilbara, 300km south-east of Port Hedland, Western Australia. It has submitted a Reserve Access Management Plan (RAMP), a critical step in the approvals process required before on-ground exploration can kick off within the reserve areas.
Tivan Ltd (Fluorine Forum 2026 Speaker)
Tivan Ltd successfully completed a mini-pilot plant programme in June 2026 for the Speewah Fluorite Project, delivering “excellent results” for acid grade fluorspar production. The Speewah Fluorite Project, hosting “one of the largest high-grade fluorite resources globally”, is located 100km south of the port of Wyndham, in the Kimberley region of north-east Western Australia.
Tivan is focused on development planning for an acidspar mining and processing operation in joint venture with Sumitomo Corp. and Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC), via subsidiary Japan Fluorite Corp.
The company owning the project has been rebranded Japan Australia Fluorite Associates Pty. A Feasibility Study has been completed, with a Definitive Feasibility Study progressing.
Meanwhile, Tivan’s Stage Two drilling at its Sandover Fluorite Project, Northern Territory, has returned high-grade fluorite intersections across multiple reefs, validating its exploration model and confirming continuity of mineralisation.
CANADA
Canada Fluorspar Inc. (Fluorine Forum 2026 Attendee)
Described on its new website as “advancing a reliable, long-term supply of acid-grade fluorspar from one of the world’s highest-grade and most strategically located deposits”, Canada Fluorspar Inc. (CFI) appears poised for yet another re-start phase in its chequered history of stop-starts.
Mothballed in 2022, CFI has since undertaken drill programmes to further delineate the resource as well as for geotechnical aspects. An initial shipment of processed acidspar stockpile was made to Houston in August 2025, with mining and processing expected to restart soon after.
April 2026 saw the mill start up, and now an EIA is underway on its South Ridge Project – a proposed satellite open pit extension to the existing Arthur Gordon Stollery (AGS) Mine.
The South Ridge Pit design is anticipated to generate 877,495 tonnes of ore and 3,667,691 tonnes of waste materials. The project is expected to extend the life of the overall operation to ten years (from the current eight years), with no required expansion to the AGS processing plant (65,286 tpm crude ore, 250,000 tpa acidspar processing capacity). The South Ridge Pit plans to supply ore in place of lower-grade AGS feed on a tonne-for-tonne basis to produce acid grade fluorspar of 97.5% CaF₂.
The plant site with mine in background of Canada Fluorspar Inc., St Lawrence, Newfoundland; the company restarted the mill in April 2026 and is progressing an open pit extension to the existing Arthur Gordon Stollery (AGS) Mine. Courtesy CFI
Liard Strategic Minerals (Fluorine Forum 2026 Attendee)
Liard Strategic Minerals Inc. is developing its 100% owned Liard Fluorspar Project near Fort Nelson, northern British Columbia.
Comprehensive work was completed in the 1970s and 1980s, most notable being the TAM deposit zone with a historic resource estimate of 1.8m tonnes @ 31.5% CaF2.
Ron Woo, CEO & Director, told IMFORMED in August: “Liard is completing its first phase of diamond-hole drilling, and we have some exceptional results.”
Mont Royal Resources Ltd
Mont Royal Resources Ltd, listed in Australia, formed through a merger with Commerce Resources Corp. in October 2025, has been accepted into the US Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC), marking an important strategic milestone as it advances the development of its 100%-owned Ashram Rare Earth and Fluorspar Project in Québec, Canada.
An example of increasing government awareness of the importance of industrial minerals and their supply chains, the DIBC is a US Department of Defense-supported consortium established to accelerate innovation and strengthen domestic and allied industrial capability across strategically important sectors. It provides members with access to a collaborative network comprising US defence agencies, prime contractors, research institutions and technology developers.
In July 2026, latest drilling results revealed high-grade fluorspar within the newly named “Flux Fluorite Zone” at the Mallard Prospect, located near the Ashram Deposit, confirming intercept grades ranging 21.7% to 39.8% CaF2. Additional fluorspar test work is now planned to support the addition of a fluorspar circuit in the upcoming Ashram PFS.
KENYA
Sofax Fluorspar Kenya Ltd
Kenya’s potential return to fluorspar production is progressing with Sofax Fluorspar Kenya Ltd focusing on “project development and operational readiness” of the former Kenya Fluorspar Co. operation in Kerio Valley, Elgeyo Marakwet county.
Sofax, in partnership with Mizztech Group, China, is rehabilitating 12 mining pits and restoring the processing plant to produce 120,000 tpa 97% CaF2 acidspar for export markets, along with road and rail repairs.
In a local press report in August, John Masanda, Director, Sofax said that the company aims to position Kenya as a regional hub for fluorochemicals and EV battery components.
MOZAMBIQUE
NeoTerra Group
Altona Rare Earths has rebranded as NeoTerra Group Plc. The UK developer has secured $1.875m in US government support for its flagship gallium-rare earths-fluorite project at Monte Muambe, Mozambique. Drilling in 2025 confirmed high-grade, near-surface fluorspar with “30% CaF2 average grades supporting open-pit mining potential”.
In May 2026 NeoTerra published a JORC mineral estimate of 3.48m tonnes at 20.6% CaF2 as well as an exploration target of up to 3.2m tonnes of contained CaF2. The company is moving towards a final investment decision for a 50,000 tpa acid grade fluorspar operation by the end of 2026, with potential mine construction in 2027.
USA
AE Fuels Corp.
In July 2026, AE Fuels Corp. (AEF) launched an integrated technical programme to advance its Fluorite Ridge Project in New Mexico for potential US domestic fluorspar supply.
AEF has also staked lode mining claims covering the historic Sadler Mine, bringing the district’s two largest historic fluorspar producers under AEF’s control at the Fluorite Ridge Project.
Fluorite Ridge, Luna County, NM, consists of 81 mining lode claims covering approximately 1,673 acres. Historic activity included underground mining of discrete high-grade fluorite veins, >106,000 tonnes, with production at the Greenleaf Mine averaging 50-92% CaF2.
Ares Strategic Mining (Fluorine Forum 2026 Speaker)
Perhaps the most advanced of the potential newcomers, Ares Strategic Mining Inc., announced late July initiation of a four-week commissioning process to test, calibrate, and optimise the metallurgical lump plant systems ahead of commercial production.
This has since progressed to a “live-material ramp-up phase”, intended to progressively refine plant settings and operating parameters before moving toward sustained production rates.
Stockpiled ore from Ares’ Lost Sheep mine in the Spor Mountain area, a former fluorspar mining district, is transported to the plant site at Delta. The Lost Sheep mine, located in Juab County, Utah, covers 5.982 acres (0.024km2) across 353 claims and is fully permitted for mining and processing.
In 2024, the company secured offtake agreements with German trader and mineral distributor Cremer Erzkontor to cover its initial metallurgical grade fluorspar (metspar) output for the first five years.
The 150,000 tpa capacity metallurgical lump plant is designed to process raw ore into metspar, used mainly in steelmaking and other industrial applications.
Ares has won a US$168.9m contract with the US Dept. of Defense to supply acid grade fluorspar into the domestic manufacturing industry and strategic minerals stockpile. The award has accelerated construction of an acidspar flotation plant at the Delta site.
CleanTech Vanadium (Fluorine Forum 2026 Speaker & Exhibitor)
CleanTech Vanadium Mining Corp. (CTV) is progressing with the permitting of its Campbell-Crotser Fluorspar Mining Project located in Livingston County, Kentucky, which includes an associated central flotation processing and tailings facility to produce 97% acid grade fluorspar.
Submission of mine and processing plant permit applications is expected by the end of November 2026, and issuance of permits is expected in the first half of 2027.
CTV is actively engaging in talks of future acidspar product sales to potential major global consumers, and expects to sign the first binding fluorspar offtake agreement by November 2026, with first acidspar product delivery anticipated in 2028.
Evion Group NL
Evion Group NL, of Perth, Australia, has advanced exploration planning for its Carp Fluorspar Project, located in Lincoln County, Nevada, involving geological mapping and surface rock chip sampling.
The project site is about 140km north-east of Las Vegas and comprises 59 unpatented lode claims covering a total of 493 hectares (1,218 acres) within the Viola Mining District of the Clover Mountains.
The project hosts confirmed high grade fluorspar mineralisation (49.83% to 88.15% CaF₂) with a demonstrated production history, supported by road access, existing infrastructure corridors, and its location within a well-established mining jurisdiction.
During 1958-59 and 1968-71 almost 45,000 tonnes metspar was produced from the Wells Fargo Mine (open pit), with an average grade of 69% CaF2.
Exposure of the fluorspar deposit at the Carp Fluorspar Project in Lincoln County, Nevada, approximately 140km north-east of Las Vegas being investigated by Evion Group NL, one of several Australian developers attracted to historic fluorspar districts in Nevada. Courtesy Evion NL.
OD6 Metals (Fluorine Forum 2026 Attendee)
Another Australian developer, Perth-based OD6 Metals Ltd, is also active in Nevada with the Quinn Fluorspar Project. In late June 2026, the company revealed it had staked 226 mining claims, expanding from its original 48 optioned claims to cover 4,670 acres in the project area. The expansion includes the acquisition of the Blue Bell Project, the Bonanza Project, the El Cortez Project, and the Bruno Project.
OD6 is about to commence groundwork on the site including surface rock chip and channel sampling; verifying historic assay grades; detailed geological mapping and structural interpretation; soil geochemistry sampling and testing; and develop drill testing programmes.
West Cobar Metals
West Cobar Metals Ltd, of Subiaco, Western Australia, in June 2026 had initially proposed acquiring the Baxter Fluorspar Project, south-west Nevada, about 150km from Reno. The deal included the Kaiser and Spar Dome mines whose past activity between 1928 and 1957 produced about 200,000 tonnes of fluorspar, including acidspar.
However, a 9 July announcement from the company stated that the transaction had failed due diligence and would not proceed: “Although the project had geologic merit, there were land title concerns related to recent updates regarding a potential expansion of a military zone nearby.”
For all the latest trends & developments in fluorspar supply & demand…
