Fluorite (also called Fluorspar), is a major industrial mineral. It often glows fluorescent under ultraviolet light, and resembles calcite. It is heavier than calcite though, and does not fizz when treated with hydrochloric acid. It is harder than gypsum or Quartz. Fluorite can appear as beds and cavities in sedimentary rock, in hot springs deposits, as veins produced by hydrothermal alteration, and in pegmatites.

Fluorite is used as flux in making steel and in producing hydrofluoric acid for glasses and enamel in the ceramics industry. It is also used in refrigerating fluids, portland cement, insecticides, fluorinated water, and in the prevention of tooth decay!