4.3.1.1 Deposit Sizes Based on the Standards for Size Class Reserves and Resources 

China is located in the circum-Pacific metallogenic belt. There are more than 30 large and superlarge fluorite deposits and more than 70 medium-sized  fluorite deposits. There are more than 240 occurrences listed in the reserves table. By the end of 1997, the retained reserves of fluorite mineral in China are 108.56 million tons in 191 ore districts, among which the reserves of categories A+B+C are 20.67 million tons. According to ore reserve statistics, there are 29.22 million tons with reserves in 40 mineral occurrences, among which reserves of categories A+B+C are 7.59 million tons. If by-product  fluorite (CaF2) reserves of 131.83 million tons in Bayan Obo, Inner Mongolia, are included, fluorite reserves in China will exceed the sum of reserves of  other countries in the world.

4.3.1.2 Characteristics 

Except in Shanghai, Tianjin, Tibet and Hainan, as well as Hong Kong and Macao where no fluorite deposits have been found, and in Taiwan where relevant data are lacking, fluorite deposits are distributed in all the remaining 27 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.  At present, 874 fluorite deposits and occurrences have been found (see Table 4.3.1).

Table 4.3.1 Fluorite deposits and occurrences in six administrative regions of China

The explored large and medium-sized deposits and their reserves are mainly distributed to the east of longitude 100¡ãE, especially in the coastal areas in eastern China, Hunan and Hubei provinces in Central China, and Bayan Obo-Erenhot in Inner Mongolia where the deposits are large ( Fig. 4.3.1; Table 4.3.2).

Table 4.3.2 The main fluorite deposits in China

¢Ù Deposit sizes based on the Standards for Size Clasification of Mineral Deposits recommended by the National Mineral Reserves Commission of China in 1987. Large deposits: CaF2 reserves >1 million tons; medium-sized deposits : CaF2  reserves 0.2~1 millions; small deposits : CaF2 reserves < 0.2 million tons 

1) In the eastern coastal area, fluorite mainly occurs in a NE-trending volcanic-tectonically active belt, extending from the Liaodong Peninsula via Shangdong, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Fujian to Guangdong and Guangxi. The whole length is 2,000 km and the width is 200 km. There are more than 50 large and medium-sized deposits and numerous small-sized ones, which are mined for fluorite alone. 

2) In Hunan, Hubei and Henan provinces in Central China, fluorite resources are distributed along two sides of Beijing-Guangdong Railway, from south of Zhengzhou to north of Chenzhou. Fluorite deposits are associated with  tungsten, tin and lead-zinc sulfides ores of granite or skarns type.  At present, almost all fluorite deposits associated with tungsten-tin and lead-zinc ores are concentrated there, such as the Taolin lead-zinc sulfides  type fluorite deposit and the Shizhuyuan tungsten-tin polymetallic type by-product fluorite deposit in Hunan Province. 

3) In the area from Bayan Obo to Erenhot in Inner Mongolia, fluorite deposits are mainly distributed in the central segment of the east-west trending Yinshan tectonic belt.  They are the Sumo Qagan Obo hydrothermal sedimentary fluorite deposit and the Bayan Obo rare earth element (REE) ferrous metal type by-product fluorite deposit in Inner Mongolia. 

4) In the Yunnan-Guizhou region,including southern Sichuan,there are mainly fluorite deposits associated with cassiterite and lead-zinc sulfide, such as the fluorite deposit associa-ted with cassiterite and lead-zinc sulfide in Gejiu, Yunnan Province. The fluorite deposits of barite type mainly occur in northern Guizhou and southern Sichuan. 

The fluorite resources in China have the following obvious characteristics: 

1) The reserves rank first in the world and the resource potentiality is great. The explored reserves of fluorite (CaF2) in China are 130 million tons. If 130 million tons of iron-niobium-REE type by-product fluorite deposits in Bayan Obo, Inner Mongolia, are included, China's reserves of fluorite (CaF2) will hit 260 million tons, accounting for more than two-thirds of the world's total reserves, and occupy the first place in the world.  Geological exploration of most deposits (occurrences) has not been under-taken; especially in the remote regions, the geological work extent is even lower. New fluorite occurrences remain to be discovered. So, we have every reason to consider that China has enormous potential of fluorite resources. 

2) Fluorite reserves are relatively concentrated. From the distribution of explored fluorite resources it can be seen that the fluorite reserves in China are mainly concentrated in Hunan, Zhejiang, Inner Mongolia, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Liaoning and Henan. The number of fluorite deposits (occurrences) in these provinces (regions) accounts for 70% of that of the whole of China, and their reserves account for 90% of the total national reserves. Especially in Hunan, Zhejiang and Inner Mongolia, by the end of 1997, the retained reserves had been nearly 100 million tons, accounting for 72.7% of the nation's total reserves. Furthermore, these reserves are mainly concentrated in several large deposits. For example, the Shizhuyuan deposit in Hunan has reserves of 45.90 million tons; the Sumo Qagan Obo deposit,  Inner Mongolia,10.31 million tons; the Taolin deposit, Hunan, 60.6 million tons, and the Hushan deposit, Zhejiang, 4.51 million tons. 

3) Fluorite deposits (occurrences) that are mined for fluolite alone are numerous, but their reserves are small. The fluorite deposits (occurrences) that produce fluorite as a by-product are scarce, but their reserves are large. There are 256 explored fluorite deposits with cumulative explored reserves (CaF2) of 170 million tons, of which 232 fluorite deposits that are mined for fluorite alone, accounting for 90.6% of the total national fluorite deposits. Their reserves (CaF2) are nearly 100 million tons, accounting for 60.4% of the total reserves in China. The number of by-product fluorite occurrences is 24, accounting for 9.4% of the total, and their reserves reach 65 million tons, accounting for 39.6% of the total. 

4) There are more poor ores and less rich ores: This feature refers to the   fluorite depo-sits that are mined for fluorite alone. The average grade of CaF2 in fluorite ores of such deposits is generally between 35%~40%. The retained reserves of rich ores with a CaF2 content of more than 65% are only 30 million tons, of which 70% are distributed in Zhejiang, Hubei, Inner Mongolia and Jiangxi. 

5) There are more refractory ores and less ores from which it is easy to recover fluorite. Mineral crystals of part of ores from which fluorite alone is recovered  are fine and intergrown closely, so they are hard to separate. As regards to the ores from which fluorite is recovered as a by-product, the mineral in most mines has not been recovered yet for the time being because the separating technology is not ripe yet except for the Taolin mine in Hunan where by-product fluorite has been recovered for total use.