Strategic emerging industries such as new energy and new materials are surging ahead—could fluorite emerge as a new pillar of industrial development?

　　Fluorite boasts vibrant, diverse colors and exhibits smooth, flawless crystals, earning it the reputation as “the most colorful gemstone in the world.” Fluorite and its downstream products are widely used across traditional sectors such as metallurgy, chemical engineering, building materials, and optics. It is frequently employed as a flux in steelmaking to remove impurities and also finds applications in the production of glass and enamel. In recent years, with the rapid rise of strategic emerging industries like new energy and advanced materials, fluorine‑containing materials used in these fields are poised to become a new cornerstone of the fluorochemical industry.

　　Various fluorinated products

　　Fluorite, the only mineral capable of yielding large quantities of fluorine, is the primary source of this element in modern chemical industry. Industrially, concentrated sulfuric acid is reacted with high‑grade fluorite concentrate to produce hydrofluoric acid, from which fluorine is extracted, thereby giving rise to a vast and diversified fluorine‑chemical industry.

Fluorochemicals primarily encompass four major product categories: fluorinated hydrocarbons, fluoropolymers, inorganic fluorides, and fluorine‑containing fine chemicals. As an important segment of the advanced materials industry, fluorochemistry also serves as a critical enabling material for emerging strategic industries such as new energy, playing a pivotal role in advancing the structural adjustment and product upgrading of China’s manufacturing sector.

No.1

New Materials Industry

In the new materials industry, organic fluoropolymers are widely used due to their unparalleled chemical resistance, thermal stability, dielectric properties, non‑flammability and non‑stick characteristics, as well as an extremely low coefficient of friction. For example, polytetrafluoroethylene—known as the “king of plastics”—is not only a key component of the exterior cladding of the National Aquatics Center, the “Water Cube,” but also the primary material for GORE‑TEX fabrics, often hailed as the “fabric of the century.” Its lightweight, ultra‑thin, robust, durable, waterproof, breathable, and windproof qualities have led to its extensive application in aerospace, defense, and medical fields, while it continues to dominate the functional apparel market. Moreover, cutting‑edge research is exploring its potential in environmental applications such as smog control and water treatment.

No.2

Telecommunications Industry

With the sweeping momentum of new infrastructure development, the explosive growth in 5G base stations will simultaneously drive a substantial surge in demand for components such as printed circuit boards (PCBs), antenna elements, and filters. In 5G base stations, printed circuit boards—serving as the most fundamental interconnect devices—will see widespread adoption.

Meanwhile, the upstream raw materials for PCBs primarily include copper foil, glass‑fiber cloth, and various specialty resins such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), along with other chemical materials like ceramics. In high‑frequency CCLs, PTFE accounts for roughly 40% of the cost. Consequently, as one of the mainstream high‑frequency substrates for 5G high‑speed CCLs, PTFE is poised to drive explosive market growth during the 5G network deployment phase.

Tetrafluoroethylene is prepared from chloroform and hydrofluoric acid, and polytetrafluoroethylene is subsequently obtained via redox polymerization.

According to incomplete statistics, the market demand for PTFE used in base stations in China is nearly RMB 9 billion, while the global demand stands at RMB 13 billion. With the rollout of 5G, the polytetrafluoroethylene market holds significant growth potential. Moreover, the widespread adoption of 5G is expected to drive a sharp increase in 5G smartphones, boosting demand for lithium batteries and, in turn, spurring growth in the lithium hexafluorophosphate sector.

No.3

Electronics industry

In the electronics industry, high-purity hydrofluoric acid serves as a highly acidic cleaning and etching agent, used for the cleaning and etching of integrated circuits and very-large-scale integration (VLSI) chips, making it one of the critical foundational chemical materials driving the development of the microelectronics sector. Meanwhile, fluorinated electronic gases constitute an important component of specialty electronic gases in the field of information‑technology materials.

Electronic-grade hydrofluoric acid

1. According to available information, electronic-grade hydrofluoric acid is one of the most widely used electronic chemicals in semiconductor manufacturing. It can be employed to clean wafer surfaces or applied in processes such as cleaning and etching during chip fabrication.

　　Currently, electronic-grade hydrofluoric acid is primarily used in fields such as integrated circuits, solar photovoltaics, and liquid crystal displays. The largest application market is the integrated circuit sector, accounting for approximately 47.3% of total electronic-grade hydrofluoric acid consumption; followed by the solar photovoltaic sector at 22.1%; and then the liquid crystal display sector at 18.3%.

　　2. PFA

　　PFA stands for “tetrafluoroethylene–perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer,” also known as “soluble PTFE.” As its name suggests, in addition to sharing many properties with PTFE, it is also melt-processable.

　　PFA is widely used in many high-end industries, such as the semiconductor sector. It is one of the primary materials for manufacturing silicon wafer carriers, piping and fittings, and semiconductor components.

　　Due to the corrosive nature of hydrogen fluoride and hydrofluoric acid, conventional metal equipment cannot be used for the production of high-purity hydrogen fluoride. Either precious metals such as platinum or gold must be employed, or stainless steel equipment with an anti-corrosion lining; the lining material is typically fluoroplastic PFA.

　　The semiconductor industry has extremely stringent requirements for packaging and transportation, as most materials involved are flammable, explosive, or highly corrosive hazardous substances. The materials used for packaging containers must be corrosion‑resistant and free from leachable particulates and metallic impurities, ensuring that the containers do not compromise reagent quality at the point of use. During the shelf life, there should be no significant increase in impurities or particles, and the packaged product must pose no risk of leakage to the environment during transport and handling. PFA is currently one of the most widely used materials.

　　Fluorinated specialty gas

3

Tetrafluoroethane

Fluorinated electronic gases are a key component of specialty electronic gases in the field of electronic information materials. Currently, fluorinated electronic gas products account for approximately 30% of the global electronic gas market.

It is primarily used as a cleaning agent and an etchant, and can also serve as a dopant or a film-forming material. Typical conventional fluorinated electronic gases include tetrafluoroethane, hexafluoroethane, nitrogen trifluoride, sulfur hexafluoride, tungsten hexafluoride, octafluoropropane, octafluorocyclobutane, and hexafluorobutadiene, among others.

Among these, tetrafluoroethane is currently the most widely used plasma etching gas in the microelectronics industry, while hexafluoroethane serves as a plasma etching gas in the semiconductor and microelectronics sectors, providing clean surface finishes for devices, and is also employed in fiber-optic manufacturing and cryogenic refrigeration.

No.4

Pesticide Industry

Japanese researchers have found that, within the insecticide and acaricide categories, fluorinated compounds account for an exceptionally high share—70% and 77%, respectively. In the other three major categories, they comprise roughly 50% of the compounds: fungicides, 49%; herbicides, 50%; and nematicides, 57%. For novel insecticide or acaricide candidates, selecting organofluorine compounds confers a statistically significant advantage and may help ensure success.

Global Fluorite Supply and Demand Overview

At present, China is the world’s largest consumer of fluorite, accounting for approximately 60% of global consumption. In addition, the United States, Mexico, and Spain are also significant fluorite‑consuming regions, with their respective shares amounting to roughly 6%, 5%, and 5% of global demand.

From the perspective of fluorite production, developing countries such as China, Mexico, Mongolia, South Africa, and Vietnam are the world’s major suppliers of fluorite resources. Together, these five countries account for approximately 91% of global market supply, with Mexico and China holding the largest fluorite reserves worldwide.

At present, the global fluorochemical industry is characterized by a high degree of concentration and monopoly. The world’s eight leading fluorochemical companies are primarily located in industrially advanced countries such as the United States, Japan, and Western Europe. These firms enjoy distinct technological advantages; their product portfolios span the entire high-end fluorochemical value chain and have long accounted for 80% of global organic fluoropolymer production capacity and 70% of gaseous fluorine‑based chemical production capacity. Meanwhile, these countries either produce little or no fluorite, relying heavily on imports for both raw fluorite and primary fluorochemical products, which underscores a severe geographic disconnect between fluorite‑producing regions and consuming markets.

With advances in technology and the rapid growth of strategic emerging industries, the application scope of fluorine‑based chemical products continues to expand. The development of these strategic sectors is driving a comprehensive improvement in the quality of China’s fluorine‑chemical industry, while fluorite, currently the primary industrial source of fluorine, is poised to benefit as well. Consequently, the fluorite industry is set to enjoy sustained long‑term prosperity, making its future highly promising.