WHERE ARE FLUORSPAR DEPOSITS LOCATED AND HOW IMPORTANT IS ILLINOIS PRODUCTION?
Fluorspar produced in the United States comes chiefly from a small area in Illinois and Kentucky where it has been mined since 1842. Illinois produced about 66 percent of the nation’s total in 1963. The state’s production amounted to more than 132,000 tons, valued at about $6,547,000. The crude ore is extracted from nearly horizontal bedded deposits and from nearly vertical veins in mines up to 800 feet deep in Pope and Hardin Counties. Finished fluorspar is produced from the crude ore by separating and concentrating methods.