Swedish success for Tertiary Minerals

EXPLORATION group Tertiary Minerals said today there has been a breakthrough at one of its sites in Sweden.

The Macclesfield-based group said metallurgical testwork has produced an acid grade Fluorspar concentrate at the site in the town of Storuman which would be of high value for commercial use.

Fluorspar is the commercial name for the mineral fluorite. It is the main industrial source of fluorine for the manufacture of hydrofluoric acid and derivative fluorine chemicals including refrigerants.

Tertiary said fluorspar consumers, several of which are based in Europe, have been facing critical supply shortages as supplies from main producer China have been diverted to meet growing domestic demand.

China has imposed export quotas and export taxes to discourage export and thus ensure domestic supplies.

It added that a conceptual target for the company is a mining operation producing at least 100,000 tonnes per annum of acid grade fluorspar.

The world market for fluorspar is around five million tonnes a year of which 65% is for acid grade fluorspar.