FLUORSPAR 
 
 
CONSUMPTION AND USES 
 
 Acid-grade fluorspar, containing greater than 97% calcium fluoride (CaF2),
was used as feedstock in the manufacture of HF, the key ingredient in the
manufacture of fluorine chemicals for the aluminum, fluorochemical, and uranium
industries. Ceramicgrade fluorspar, containing 85% to 95% CaF2, was used
in the ceramic industry for the production of glass and enamel, to make welding
rods, and as a flux in making steel. Metallurgical-grade fluorspar, containing
60% to 85% or more CaF2, was used primarily by the iron and steel industry
as a flux. 
* Reported domestic consumption of fluorspar decreased 25% because of large
decreases in the use of fluorspar for HF and iron and steel production. The
HF and steel industries accounted for 72% and 25%, respectively, of reported
consumption. According to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), raw
steel production decreased from 92.53 million tons in 1984 to 87.35 million
tons in 1985. A comparison of the AISI data with fluorspar consumption data
collected in the Bureau of Mines canvass of U.S. steel producers shows, on
the average, a decreasing rate of fluorspar consumption per ton of raw steel
produced during 198385; however, steel production in openhearth furnaces
showed an increasing rate of fluorspar consumption. On the basis of furnace
type, the average fluorspar consumption per ton of raw steel was as follows:

  Fluorspar consumption 
 Type of furnace (pounds per short ton) 
 1983 1984 1985 
Openhearth 6.44 8.61 10.78 
Basic oxygen 4.19 3.99 2.68 
Electric 3.80 2.94 2.08 
 Industry average 4.30 4.06 2.08 
 
 
 In the ceramic industry, fluorspar was used as a flux and as an opacifier
in the production of flint glass, white or opal glass, and enamels. Fluorspar
was used in the manufacture of glass fibers, aluminum, cement, and brick,
and was also used in the melt shop by the foundry industry. 
 Seven companies produced HF in seven plants. The U.S. Department of Commerce,
Bureau of the Census, reported that anhydrous, technical, and aqueous HF
"produced and withdrawn from the system" was approximately 162,400
tons,
compared with 168,100 tons reported at yearend 1984 but later revised to
190,134 tons. HF produced and consumed in the same plant in 1984 was reported
as 48,348 tons. 
421 
 The Harshaw Filtrol Partnership closed its anhydrous HF unit at its HarvardDenison
chemical manufacturing facility in Cleveland, OH. The HF operation was in
need of a large capital investment to maintain a competitive and safe operating
level, and the company felt that market conditions for the expenditure were
unjustified. 
 The consumption pattern of HF was reported as follows: fluorocarbons, 41%;
aluminum production, 31%; petroleum alkylation, 4%; stainless steel production,
4%; uranium processing, 4%; rare metals, 4%; other, including glass etching,
fluoride salts, and herbicides, 12%.2 Chiorofluorocarbons were produced by
five companies. According to U.S. International Trade Commission data, production
of trichlorofluoromethane (F-li) decreased 12% to 81,300 tons; dichlorodifluoromethane
(F-i2) output decreased 17% to 141,000 tons; and chiorodifluoromethane (F-22)
production decreased 14% to 109,350 tons. 
 Another major use of HF was in the synthesis of fluorine chemicals used
in aluminum reduction cells. An estimated 40 to 60 pounds of fluorine was
consumed for each ton of aluminum produced. Aluminum fluoride was used by
aluminum producers to lower the melting point and increase the conductivity
of electrolytes in the smelting process. It was also used as a flux ingredient
for the removal of magnesium in the refining of aluminum scrap. Aluminum
fluoride was used by the ceramic industry for some body and glaze mixtures
and in the production of specialty refractory products. It was used in the
manufacture of aluminum silicates and in the glass industry as a filler.

 HF was consumed in concentrating uranium isotope 235 for use as nuclear
fuel. It was also used in stainless steel pickling, petroleum alkylation,
glass etching, oil and gas well treatment, and in the manufacture of a host
of fluorine chemicals used in dielectrics, metallurgy, wood preservatives,
pesticides, mouthwashes and decaypreventing dentifrices, plastics, and water
fluoridation. 
 Fluosilicic acid was used primarily in water fluoridation, either directly
or after being processed to sodium silicofluoride, and by the aluminum industry.

 Allied Corp. started up a commercialscale plant at Metropolis, IL, to produce
fluorinated carbon products. Allied reported that its fluorinated carbons,
which are made by reacting carbon with elemental