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Where zirconium is found

What is it found in, and where on Earth?

Almost all zirconium comes from zircon in heavy-mineral sands on old and modern coasts. Zircon forms in igneous rocks and survives erosion. Waves and wind then sort it into placer deposits with ilmenite and rutile. One rock deposit, Kovdor in Russia, gives a little zirconium.

Last updated 10 October 2026.

Minerals and ores

Zircon (ZrSiO₄) is the main ore of zirconium. A smaller amount comes from baddeleyite, a natural zirconium oxide1.

Zircon always holds some hafnium. The ratio of zirconium to hafnium in zircon is about 34 to 1, and zircon is also the main source of hafnium1.

Zircon grains are very durable and chemically inert. They can survive many cycles of erosion and deposition2. For this reason, very old grains still exist. A zircon from the Jack Hills in Western Australia is about 4,404 million years old3.

How deposits form

Most zircon first crystallizes in igneous rocks2. When these rocks weather, zircon and other heavy minerals collect in sand. The sands that are mined today are placers. Wind, waves and tides sort them on coasts2.

Zircon and its companion minerals are dense, so they collect where water and wind carry the lighter sand away2. In economic deposits, heavy minerals make up from less than 1% to about 25% of the sand2.

These placers form mostly at low latitudes on passive continental margins. They give all of the world’s zircon2. The richest modern placers are at latitudes below 35°2.

The largest primary deposits in rock are in alkaline igneous rocks2. Only one of them produces zirconium today: Kovdor, on the Kola Peninsula of Russia. There, baddeleyite is a by-product of apatite and magnetite mining2.

Where the deposits are

Zirconium reserves (ZrO2 content) by country
Australia 71% 55 Mt
South Africa 7.6% 5.9 Mt
Indonesia 4.4% 3.4 Mt
Senegal 3.4% 2.6 Mt
Madagascar 2.7% 2.1 Mt
Mozambique 1.9% 1.5 Mt
United States 0.65% 0.5 Mt
China 0.65% 0.5 Mt
Rest of the world 7.7% 6 Mt
2025. Reserves, million tonnes of zirconium oxide (ZrO2), USGS. Other countries together have 5.7 million t. USGS gives the world total as 'more than' 70 million t; the country values add up to 77.5 million t, which we use as the world total here. World: 77.5 Mt. Australia's reserves under the Australian JORC code are 21 million t of ZrO2; USGS uses a wider definition for its 55 million t4

USGS counts the largest reserves in Australia, followed by South Africa, Indonesia, Senegal, Madagascar and Mozambique (see the table)4. The shares of mining are in the power chapter.

In the United States, Trail Ridge runs for more than 160 km across Florida and Georgia. It is an old dune ridge that has given titanium minerals and zircon since 19492.

What it comes with

Zircon occurs with the titanium minerals ilmenite and rutile. Other heavy minerals in these sands can include chromite and monazite, an ore of the rare earths2. Zircon is usually a small part of the heavy minerals, and it is mostly a by-product of titanium mining (see the abundance chapter)2.

At Eneabba in Western Australia, Iluka began in 2021 to recover monazite and zircon together from old mine tailings1.

Sources

  1. 1

    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.

    • The primary source of zirconium is the mineral zircon (ZrSiO4), principally found in heavy-mineral sands. A relatively small quantity of zirconium is derived from the mineral baddeleyite
    • Zircon was also the primary source of hafnium; zirconium and hafnium are contained in zircon at a ratio of about 34 to 1
    • a project to recover monazite and zircon in a mixed concentrate from stockpiled mine tailings entered production
  2. 2

    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.

    • Detrital zircon (fig. V1D) in sediment and sedimentary rocks is highly durable and chemically inert and, therefore, can survive numerous cycles of reworking and concentration
    • Most zircon forms as a product of primary crystallization in igneous rocks
    • In coastal deposits, heavy-mineral enrichment occurs where sediment is repeatedly reworked by wind, waves, currents, and tidal processes
    • Zircon and other related ore minerals also have high densities and therefore accumulate under the influence of gravity in wind and water
    • the average concentration of total heavy minerals in economic deposits ranges from less than 1 percent to about 25 percent
    • preferentially form at relatively low latitudes on passive continental margins and supply 100 percent of the world’s zircon
    • The most enriched modern placer systems are located at latitudes lower than 35°
    • The world’s largest primary deposits of zirconium and hafnium are associated with alkaline igneous rocks
    • this deposit, from which baddeleyite is recovered as a byproduct of apatite and magnetite mining, is the only igneous deposit in the world that is currently producing zirconium
    • Trail Ridge, which is a prominent physiographic feature that extends for more than 160 km across Florida and Georgia, formed as a coast-parallel dune complex … since 1949
    • the concentration of zircon and other economically important heavy minerals, such as ilmenite and rutile (for titanium), chromite (for chromium), and monazite
    • Zircon makes up a relatively small percentage of the economic heavy minerals in most deposits; thus, zircon is primarily a byproduct
  3. 3

    S.A. Wilde, J.W. Valley, W.H. Peck and C.M. Graham, Nature 409, 175-178, 2001. Evidence from detrital zircons for the existence of continental crust and oceans on the Earth 4.4 Gyr ago , Abstract and introduction.

    A zircon grain from the Jack Hills, Western Australia, 4,404 million years old.

    • the discovery of a detrital zircon with an age as old as 4,404 ± 8 Myr
  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 ... 55,000 ... 5,900 ... 3,400 ... 2,600 ... 2,100 ... 1,500 ... >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