Resumen de Plunging fluorspar prices weigh heavily on South African miners
South Africa has the world's largest fluorspar reserves, but its fluorspar miners are bearing the brunt of uneconomic mining conditions, operational limitations, punitive legislation and more recently, China's attempt to liquidate its own fluorspar inventories at record low prices.
Out of the country's three fluorspar mines, Vergenoeg - owned by Minersa; Buffalo - owned by Rigiro Stone; and Witkop - owned by Vanoil Energy Ltd, only Vergenoeg was in production in 2014.
According to IM Data, prices for acidspar (97% CaF[subscript]2, dry filtercake, FOB Durban) dropped by 24% in 2014, falling from the highs of $415/tonne in Q1 2014 to $315/tonne today.
