Fluorite is the official state mineral of Illinois. Yipee! The General Assembly established Fluorite as the state mineral in 1965. Its competitors included galena, calcite, and quartz.
Illinois is the largest producer of Fluorite in the United States.
Fluorite is most valuable as an ingredient of hyddrofluoric acid. This acid, in turn, has many uses. It is used in the manufacture of aerosols, refrigerants, and teflon. It is used as a flux in steel making. Flourite is an oxidizer for rocket fuels and an ingredient of insecticides. It is useful in the aluminum and silver industries and in the manufacture of fiberglass.
But most people associate flourite with a more personal use. Itís a popular ingredient in toothpaste and drinking water used to fight tooth decay!
sources (i didn’t write the above copy, it’s just copied and pasted from the following): Illinois State Museum, Illinois Facts Section, Illinois Flourite for sale!, Geobopological Survey.
i bet this post was inspired by chicagoist.com
Yes. You are correct. Here is the direct link to their original post: http://www.chicagoist.com/archives/2004/08/12/there_must_be_some_torros_in_the_atmosphere.php
is Flourite related to Flouride at all?
Flourite is Calcium Flouride. Also known as CaF2.