Fluorite, or fluorspar, is one of more than 20 kinds of important raw materials of nonmetallic minerals in the world, and its molecular formula is CaF2. The pure fluorite contains 51.3% Ca and 48.7% F. However, the fluorite mineral is always contaminated with chlorine, rare earth elements, uranium, iron, lead, zinc, asphalt etc., and is a mineral with the highest content of fluorine in nature and a major mineral raw material from which fluorine is extracted industrially.

Fluorite is widely used as a flux in the metallurgical industry, a mineralization agent in the cement industry and an anti-sun agent in the glass and ceramic industries. The colorless and transparent fluorite crystals can be used as optical materials. Colorful fluorite can even be used as gems or carving materials for art wares. Fluorite is the basic raw materials in the fluorine chemical industry and its products are widely used in the fields of aerospace, aviation, refrigeration, medicine, agricultural chemical, antiseptics, fire extinguishing, electronics, electric power, machinery, atomic energy and so on. 

China is a country with rich fluorite resources and a long history of development and utilization of fluorite. In 1917, fluorite deposits were found firstly and begun to be mined in an area of Xinchang-Wuyi in Zhejiang Province. Up to 1945, the output of fluorite  in Zhejiang reached 0.3 million tons and that was more than 0.1 million tons in the Daxigou fluorite mine, Harqin Qi, Inner Mongolia. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949,with the economic development, especially the development in the iron and steel industry, aluminium smelting industry, building materials industry and fluorite-chemical industry, the demand of fluorite in all fields has been greatly increased. The fluorite production has made a great progress. The number of fluorite producing provinces and regions have increased from one to two up to 27 and the annual output of fluorite has reached 3~4 million tons.  

China not only has a long history of fluorite mining, but also carried out geological exploration earlier. With arduous efforts of many geological specialists and  geologist workers, more than 200 fluorite deposits  with  reserves more than 100 million tons were found at Yangjia and Houshu in Zhejiang Province, Shuzhuyuan in Hunan, Sumo Qagan  Obo, Inner Mongolia and so on.