Investigations on methods for assessment of critical and strategic minerals and elements with a special focus on geoeconomics of fluorspar in Iran

Before the Cold War, strategic materials supply and related studies were maily affected by military ýýcompetition between the East and the West. The example is the assessment of the geopolitical risk factors by ýAnderson for the North Atlantic ýTreaty Organization. However, after the Cold War and the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the development of Chinese economy, more and more Western countries began to be concerned of the vulnerability against the suppliers of minerals. The main reason for this is geopolitical developments and turning of militarism and geostrategy to Geoeconomics and priority of economy. The methods for assessment of the post-Cold War are based on confrontation ýbetween the north and the south and provide more economic security or economic power and also provide needed ýgoods and protection of the environment.ý New methods started with research of the National Council of United States of America by innovating the two-dimensioned criticality matrix including economic importance and supply risk, and Graedel studies actually follow its principles. Investigations by Geological Survey and Department of Defense in the United States, the European Union and German industry show that fluorspar is a strategic mineral. Economic value of fluorspar is it usage in production of steel, aluminum, hydrofluorocarbon, ýteflon and new and clean energy. Investigations on fluorspar producing countries during the last fifteen years in this research show that although Iran has achieved the 10th rank in the world with one percent of the world production, but still is one of the main importer of intermediate goods made using this mineral among neighboring countries. Therefore, the first step in improving the country's situation in this regard is essential investment for systematic and in-depth exploration, especially in the central Alborz, with the goal of increasing fluorspar reserves and to supply raw materials for the aluminum industry in the country, the industry in which countries at the south of Iran as competitors have been very active by large investments, due to low cost energy.