Looming Deficit

Nokeng mulling two or three more fluorspar mines by 2026 as huge shortage is predicted

- Mia Breytenbach

Following the breakthrough of opening the first new mine in Gauteng, South Africa, in the last 12 years, which is being developed by producer SepFluor’s wholly owned Nokeng fluorspar mine, the company aims to become vertically integrated in the fluorspar value chain in future.

Fluorite ore is mined for the production of calcium fluoride (CaF2), also known as fluorspar, which is considered a valuable commodity and has a global market value of about $2-billion, according to SepFluor.

China and Mexico lead global production, with about 80% of total output, while China and Europe are the largest users, with an estimated 20% of consumption.

“South Africa is set to be the world’s premium fluorspar provider, as it has 42-million tonnes of the world’s fluorspar reserves, while China has only 21-million tonnes,” says SepFluor CEO Rob Wagner, highlighting South Africa’s strategic logistical position.

He points out that the country is well placed to export fluorspar, owing to the logistics provided by the Richards Bay and Durban ports, to other world markets, with about 95% of South Africa’s acid spar currently exported.

Through Nokeng, SepFluor aims to double South Africa’s current fluorspar production of about 180 000 t/y. While the fluorspar market has been in a negative cycle, with acid spar prices falling as low as $190/t to $200/t in the past two to three years, Wagner believes that the market has survived the bottoming out of the price from mid-2016 to the end of that year.

“This year, we have seen the upturn and, while we are still not 100% sure whether the upturn is sustainable, . . . our forecast is for a rising market over the next five to eight years.” Wagner says.