Canada Fluorspar has announced its first shipment of fluorspar from its operations in Canada.

The St. Lawrence fluorspar project, which was previously idled in 2022, made its first shipment of acid-grade fluorspar (acidspar) towards the end of August. Before its closure, the mine supplied acidspar to the USA, Germany, and Italy.

The first year of mining at St. Lawrence will concentrate on ramping up operations and commissioning the mill. Following this initial phase, the plan is to increase production to 200ktpy of acidspar, with the mine having an estimated 30-year life of mine. This resumption of operations is timely, as the supply of acidspar is tight, with Project Blue anticipating demand to grow at a CAGR of 4.9% from 2024 to 2035.

While some fluorspar is sold from stockpiles produced as a by-product from limestone quarrying at the Hastie Quarry in Cave-in-Rock, Illinois, this news establishes St. Lawrence as the only active fluorspar mine in North America, while other fluorspar projects in the region are still in development.

Among these projects is Ares Strategic Mining’s Lost Sheep mine located in Utah, USA, which recently received additional funding through its Sharing Agreement with Sorble Bornham LP in July 2025 to support project development.

Connect with our global team of experts to explore what this means for fluorspar markets and critical mineral strategies.