How Mongolia Ended Up in Your HF Contract
US acid-grade fluorspar imports are up 46 percent this year and Mexico supplied 17 percent of the increase. Two origins that shipped nothing in the same months of 2025 now carry a fifth of the book, and they are not charging a premium to do it.
In November 2025, Mexico landed 392 tonnes of acid-grade fluorspar in the United States. In March 2026, 420 tonnes.
Those are rounding errors from the country that was 85.5% of the book through the first seven months of 2025.
The interesting part is what those two months did to the total.
November came in at 12,914 t, a starved month by any standard. March came in at 19,076 t, up 47.7% on it, because by March there was somebody else to call (chart below).
"Who fills the month when the Mexican vessel doesn't sail?"
The Book Changed in October
Thailand enters the US customs record under HS 2529.22 in October 2025 at 12,578 t, having shipped nothing on the line in any year from 2015 through 2024.
Mongolia lands 10,260 t in the same month. It had shipped the United States 4,783 t across the nine years 2016 through 2024, all of it combined.
That month totalled 47,198 t, the biggest in the window until June 2026 passed it.
And they stayed. Across January to July 2026 Mongolia shipped 28,309 t and Thailand 20,987 t, together 19.7% of the book.
Both sat at zero in the same seven months of 2025.
The aggregate moved with them. Imports on the line went from 172,147 t in January to July 2025 to 250,704 t in 2026, up 45.6%.
Mexico's own tonnage grew 9.1%, which works out to 17.0% of the increase. Its share of the book fell from 85.5% to 64.0%.
Roll it forward twelve months and the August 2025 to July 2026 total is 415,143 t, higher than any full calendar year on this line since 2015.
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