How much hafnium is there?

And how much of that can we reach?

Hafnium is about 3 parts per million of Earth's crust. It almost always comes with zirconium, at about one part hafnium to 34 to 50 parts zirconium. USGS publishes no estimate of hafnium reserves or resources. Supply depends on how much zirconium is refined to nuclear grade.

Last updated 14 October 2026.

In nature

How much of it there is, by mass, on a log scale

Universe 700 ppt ¹

Earth's crust 3.3 ppm ¹

Seawater 0.13 ppt ²

Hafnium makes up about 3 parts per million (ppm) of Earth’s crust, against about 100 ppm for zirconium³. Wolfram ElementData gives 3.3 ppm¹.

Soils hold a mean of about 3 ppm hafnium, with a range of 2 to 20 ppm³. Seawater holds very little. MBARI gives a typical value of 0.71 picomoles per kilogram, about 0.13 nanograms per kilogram². The same MBARI row also gives 3.4 nanograms per kilogram, so the value is not certain.

Hafnium has no known biological role⁴.

Reserves and resources

Reserves

No estimate: USGS says hafnium reserve data are not available ⁵

2025

USGS does not estimate world reserves or resources of hafnium⁵. It says only that hafnium resources go with those of zircon and baddeleyite⁵.

The European Commission gives one deposit figure: reported hafnium reserves of 6,800 tonnes at the Norra Kärr deposit in Sweden⁶. Zirconium reserves are large: USGS gives more than 70 million tonnes of zirconium oxide⁵ (see zirconium).

Limits to supply

Hafnium is made only when zirconium is refined to nuclear grade. The European Commission says that supply depends on the nuclear industry’s demand for pure zirconium⁶. The trader Anthony Lipmann wrote in 2012: “Without a nuclear industry there would be no Hafnium”⁷.

In 2017, USGS called the outlook for zirconium and hafnium supply generally favorable, because zircon is common in rocks and coastal sands³. Lipmann wrote in 2012 that more crystal bar plants would still depend on zirconium output⁷.

The consultancy OnG Commodities wrote in 2026 that demand is probably close to this limit. It expects processors to separate hafnium from zirconium for the hafnium alone, and to store the zirconium. This is a forecast⁸.

Sources

1
periodictable.com (Theodore Gray), data from Wolfram ElementData, 2026. Technical data for the element Hafnium , Abundances.

Mass fractions of hafnium in the universe, the crust and the oceans. No value for the human body.
- % in Universe 7×10⁻⁸%
- % in Earth's Crust 0.00033%
- % in Earth’s Crust 0.00033%
2
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), 2026. Periodic Table of Elements in the Ocean: Summary Table , Row 72, Hf.

Mean ocean concentration of hafnium. The row gives 3.4 ng/kg and 0.71 pmol/kg, which do not agree.
- 72 Hf 3.40E+00 178.4900 1.90E-02 0.71 pmol/kg
3
U.S. Geological Survey (James V. Jones III, Nadine M. Piatak and George M. Bedinger), 2017. Zirconium and Hafnium, chapter V of Critical Mineral Resources of the United States (Professional Paper 1802) , Pp. V1-V26: summary, uses, supply and demand, geochemistry, deposit types, environmental considerations, health.

Crustal abundance, the zirconium to hafnium ratio, separation, uses, recycling, toxicity and the environment.
- estimated average crustal abundances of 100 parts per million (ppm) and 3 ppm, respectively (Taylor and McLennan, 1995)
- a mean concentration of 3 ppm (and a range of from 2 to 20 ppm) for hafnium
- Because of the relative ubiquity of zircon in crustal rocks
- the outlook for zirconium and hafnium supply is generally favorable
4
Royal Society of Chemistry, 2026. Hafnium - Element information, properties and uses , Sections Uses and properties, Biological role, Natural abundance, History.

Discovery, name, first pure metal, uses, biological role.
- Hafnium has no known biological role, and it has low toxicity.
5
U.S. Geological Survey (Shelby N. Johnston), 2026. Zirconium and Hafnium, in Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 , Pp. 1-2: production and use, salient statistics (hafnium rows), events, world production and reserves, resources, substitutes, footnote 6.

Hafnium prices from 2021 to 2025, US trade in hafnium, import sources, recycling, substitutes, and the statement that world data are not available.
- World primary hafnium production data and quantitative estimates of hafnium reserves were not available.
- World resources of hafnium are associated with those of zircon and baddeleyite. Quantitative estimates of hafnium resources were not available.
- World total (rounded) … >70,000
6
European Commission (G.A. Blengini and others), 2020. Study on the EU's list of Critical Raw Materials (2020): Factsheets on Critical Raw Materials , Chapter 12, Hafnium (pp. 253-266).

World production 2012-2016, producers, uses, recycling, prices, trade measures, the name.
- In the EU, hafnium reserves are reported for the Norra-Kaerr deposit in Sweden (6,800 tonnes).
- Supply of hafnium is heavily dependent on the nuclear industry and its demand for pure zirconium.
7
Anthony Lipmann, Lipmann Walton & Co (metal trader), 2012. Hafnium Supply-Demand – MMTA – Brief Metal Statistics .

A trader's account of hafnium supply, crystal bar production, uses and trade, written in 2012 and updated in 2020.
- Without a nuclear industry there would be no Hafnium.
- even if actioned, Hafnium’s dependence on Zirconium output for raw material would still remain a limiting factor
8
Andrew Matheson and Patrick Stratton, OnG Commodities LLC, in The Crucible (Minor Metals Trade Association), 2026. Hafnium – Where will it end? .

A consultancy's view of the hafnium market in 2026: prices, supply estimate, Western processors, uses, and its forecast. Published 7 August 2026.
- OnG believes we are probably close to this limit now
- processors will have to dehafniate zirconium solely to supply hafnium, stockpiling the zirconium (likely as an oxide) for another day