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How much zirconium is there?

And how much of that can we reach?

Zirconium makes up about 0.013% of the Earth's crust. USGS counts more than 70 million tonnes of zirconium oxide in reserves, mostly in Australia. That is 90 years or more of mining at the 2025 rate. Zircon is mostly a by-product of titanium mining, which sets much of the supply.

Last updated 10 October 2026.

In nature

How much of it there is, by mass, on a log scale
Universe 50 ppb 1
Earth's crust 130 ppm 1
Seawater 15 ppt 2
Human body 50 ppb 1

Zirconium is about 0.013% of the Earth’s crust by mass, or 130 parts per million1. USGS gives a lower average of 100 parts per million, after Taylor and McLennan3. The second value in that quote is for hafnium, which always occurs with zirconium.

Zirconium does not easily enter the common rock minerals. It collects in a few accessory minerals3. The most common of these is zircon, zirconium silicate3.

Seawater holds very little zirconium, about 15 nanograms per kg2. The human body holds about 0.05 parts per million1.

Reserves and resources

Reserves

~ More than 52million tonnes4

2025. Our conversion of the USGS world reserve, more than 70 million t of zirconium oxide (ZrO2). ZrO2 is 74.0% zirconium by mass (91.224 / 123.22).

Australia has 55 million t of the oxide, about 71% of the 77.5 million t in the USGS country values. USGS counts the oxide in zircon and in baddeleyite.

USGS estimates world reserves at more than 70 million tonnes of zirconium oxide (ZrO₂)4. By our calculation, that is more than 52 million tonnes of zirconium. Australia has 55 million tonnes of the oxide4. Under the stricter Australian JORC code, Australia’s reserves are 21 million tonnes4.

Mines produced about 1.2 million tonnes of concentrate in 20254. USGS takes the oxide as 65% of that weight4. That gives about 780,000 tonnes of oxide a year. At that rate, the counted reserves would last 90 years or more. This is our rough sum, not a forecast. Reserves change with exploration and prices.

USGS gives no world resource figure. In the United States, resources include about 14 million tonnes of zircon in titanium sands4. USGS adds that phosphate rock and sand and gravel deposits could give zircon as a by-product4.

Limits to supply

The limit is not the amount in the ground. Zircon is mostly a by-product of mining sands for the titanium minerals ilmenite and rutile3. So zircon output follows decisions about titanium mines (see the titanium page).

In 2017, USGS called the outlook for supply generally favorable3. In its 2021 yearbook, USGS wrote that some mines were near the end of their life, with lower ore grades. It expected supply deficits if new mines did not keep up with demand5. Base Resources ended mining at its Kwale mineral sands mine in Kenya in December 2024, when the ore reserve was used up6. In 2025, companies continued to develop new mines in Australia, Mozambique, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Tanzania4.

Sources

  1. 1

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

    Mass fractions of zirconium in the universe, the crust, the oceans and the human body.

    • % in Universe 5×10⁻⁶%
    • % in Earth's Crust 0.013%
    • % in Humans 5×10⁻⁶%
    • % in Earth’s Crust 0.013%
  2. 2

    Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), 2026. Periodic Table of Elements in the Ocean: Summary Table , Row 40, Zr.

    Mean ocean concentration of zirconium, 15 ng/kg (160 pmol/kg). A compiled value.

    • 40 Zr 1.50E+01 91.2240 1.64E-01 160 pmol/kg
  3. 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, geology, deposit types, resources, environmental considerations.

    Crustal abundance, deposit types, Kovdor, Trail Ridge, metal production, recycling, prices in 2011 and 2012, health and environment.

    • estimated average crustal abundances of 100 parts per million (ppm) and 3 ppm, respectively (Taylor and McLennan, 1995)
    • do not substitute for the major elements in ordinary minerals. Instead, these elements, known as high field-strength elements (HFSE), concentrate in less common accessory minerals
    • Zircon (ZrSiO4) is the most common naturally occurring zirconium- and hafnium-bearing mineral
    • zircon is primarily a byproduct of heavy-mineral sand mining for the titanium minerals ilmenite and rutile
    • the outlook for zirconium and hafnium supply is generally favorable
  4. 4

    U.S. Geological Survey (Shelby N. Johnston), 2026. Zirconium and Hafnium, in Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 , Pp. 1-2: production and use, salient statistics, events, world mine production and reserves, resources, substitutes, footnotes.

    World mine production and reserves by country, prices of zircon, sponge and hafnium from 2021 to 2025, US uses, trade, recycling and substitutes.

    • Zirconium reserves8 ... ZrO2 content)1 ... World total (rounded) ... >70,000
    • World total (rounded) … >70,000
    • Zirconium reserves8 (thousand metric tons, ZrO2 content)1 500 55,000 500 3,400 2,100 1,500 2,600 290 5,900 5,700 >70,000
    • For Australia, Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant or equivalent reserves were 21 million tons, ZrO2 content.
    • United States Australia China Indonesia Madagascar Mozambique Senegal Sierra Leone South Africa Other countries World total (rounded) … 100 100 400 400 100 100 81 52 31 26 11 124 160 11 68 70 25 25 290 270 71 40 1,300 1,200
    • Calculated ZrO2 content as 65% of gross weight.
    • Resources of zircon in the United States included about 14 million tons associated with titanium resources in heavy-mineral-sand deposits
    • Phosphate rock and sand and gravel deposits could potentially yield substantial amounts of zircon as a byproduct
    • Several companies continued exploration and development projects with planned production of zirconium mineral concentrates in Australia, Mozambique, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and elsewhere.
  5. 5

    U.S. Geological Survey (Joseph Gambogi), 2025. Zirconium and Hafnium, in Minerals Yearbook 2021 , Text pp. 86.1-86.6: uses, prices, world review by country.

    Uses of zircon, zirconia and the metal, prices in 2021, Chinese imports, and output of the main producers.

    • some existing operations were reaching the end of their mine life and experiencing declining ore grades. Short- and long-term supply deficits are expected if increasing demand is not matched with sufficient additional mine production
  6. 6

    Base Resources, 2025. Kwale Operations .

    The end of mining at the Kwale mineral sands mine in Kenya in December 2024. A company page.

    • The Kwale mineral sands mine in Kenya, which commenced production in 2013, has come to an end following depletion of the ore reserve in December 2024