Fluorspar: Trading
Annual contracts for acid grade and metspar
What this tab covers How and where it is bought and sold: who buys and sells, exchanges and benchmarks, contract types, the big trading houses and how prices are discovered.Fluorspar has no exchange contract. Producers sell acid grade to hydrofluoric acid makers on annual or quarterly contracts, and metallurgical grade to steelmakers. Price-reporting agencies such as Fastmarkets and Argus publish assessments for acid grade and metspar, often on a c.i.f. or f.o.b. China basis. Many HF plants are integrated with mines or hold long-term supply deals, so spot trade is thin.
Where it is bought (buyers)
- HF and fluorochemical plants in the US Gulf (Louisiana, Texas), Europe (Italy, Germany), India (Gujarat) and China buy acidspar on annual and quarterly contracts
- Steelmakers and cement plants buy metspar
- China buys metspar mainly from Mongolia and increasingly from Africa
Where it is sold (sellers)
- China (domestic and limited exports)
- Mexico (largest US supplier, 64% of 2021-24 US imports)
- Mongolia (mostly to China)
- South Africa, Vietnam, Spain
- New mines restarting in Canada and in development in Australia, Kenya, Mozambique and the US
Exchanges and benchmarks
| Venue | Contract | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| No exchange market | No futures; nothing on MCX or NCDEX | Prices from bilateral contracts and agency assessments |
Contract types
- Annual or quarterly supply contracts for acidspar priced by assessments
- Spot cargoes FOB China or CIF Rotterdam / US Gulf
- Integrated supply within groups that own both mines and HF plants (e.g. Orbia)
Top trading houses
- Producers' own marketing arms
- Specialist minerals traders
How prices are discovered
- Fastmarkets and Argus assessments for acidspar and metspar
- Chinese domestic price assessments (e.g. SMM)
- US import unit values (USGS)