Virtues of fluorite-case of Bou-Izourane fluorite

Abstract

Fluorite minerals are among the non-metallic natural substances that have played an important role in the industry for decades. The economic importance of each of the grades of fluorite marketed meets precise chemical specifications such as its melting quality and fluor content. They also provide specific and very diverse outlets: iron and steel industry, aluminum metallurgy, plastics manufacturing, solvents, refrigerants, welding, glassmaking, cement industry, etc. In Morocco, fluorite is a very important resource because of its multiple high-grade deposits, which currently make it the 8th largest producer of metallurgical fluorite concentrate in the world with 70 kt produced per year. In the Moroccan High Atlas, the fluorite district of Bou-Izourane, located 40 km south of the city of Midelt, is estimated to be one of the most important fluorite deposits in Morocco. There are at least four violet fluorite sites in this district, the two deposits of Bou-Izourane and Bou-kharouba in the eastern part of the study area. The western part of the Bou-Izourane region hosts the two other deposits (Tabja and Bou-Imtessene). Although the Bou-Izourane fluorite is more or less colored (Violet-Lilac) with remarkable quality and perfect transparency, its uranium content, especially at the Tabja and Bou-Imtessene sites, is quite high (97.4–188.5 ppm). This property of uranium richness is an axis of research in addition to the determination of its physico-chemical characteristics, which will define the virtues and the fields of use of this fluorite. This document has been written in the hope that it will be of some use in highlighting the potential of the fluorite of the Moroccan Bou-Izourane deposit.