Our Elements Zr Zirconium
Menu

History of zirconium

How did our relationship with it begin and change?

Zircon was a gem in ancient times. Martin Klaproth found its oxide in 1789, and pure metal was first made in 1925. Mining of zircon began in the first half of the 20th century. Nuclear reactors made the metal important from the 1950s. Ceramics became the largest use of zircon.

Last updated 10 October 2026.

Discovery and name

Gems of zircon were known in ancient times1. The Ancient Egyptians used zircon in jewelry1. The name comes from the Persian word zargun, which means gold colored1.

In 1789, the German chemist Martin Klaproth analyzed a zircon. He separated a new earth from it, zirconia, the oxide of zirconium1. Klaproth could not isolate the metal. Humphry Davy also failed, by electrolysis, in 18081.

In 1824, Jöns Berzelius made zirconium as a black powder. He heated potassium hexafluorozirconate with potassium metal1. Pure zirconium was first made in 1925 by Anton Eduard van Arkel and Jan Hendrik de Boer. They decomposed zirconium tetraiodide1.

Zircon always holds some hafnium (see the geology chapter), but hafnium was found only in 1923. George de Hevesy and Dirk Coster found it in a Norwegian zircon2.

How our use changed

First mining. People have mined placer sands since the first use of metals3. But the first economic recovery of zircon came only in the first half of the 20th century3. US records of its value start in 1918 (see the market chapter).

Nuclear metal. At the Albany Research Center in Oregon, William Kroll applied his titanium process to zirconium4. In 1951, the center began to make zirconium for the USS Nautilus, the first US nuclear submarine4. Today, hafnium-free zirconium is used as cladding for nuclear fuel (see the uses chapter).

Growth. World production outside the United States grew from about 25,000 tonnes in 1950 to 680,000 tonnes in 1980. It passed 1 million tonnes in 20035.

From refractories to ceramics. In 1995, USGS named refractories and foundry as the largest end uses of zirconium6. By 2021, ceramics came first in the world7. We found no source with shares for the whole period in the same groups.

Television glass. In 2007, the IAEA wrote that cathode ray tubes had until recently been in all color televisions and computer monitors. The glass at the front of the tube held zirconia from zircon, to absorb X-rays8. In a 2003 report, as given by the IAEA, the market analysts TZMI put this use at 8% of zircon8.

Fukushima. During the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan in March 2011, the water level in the reactors dropped. The very hot zirconium cladding then reacted with steam and made hydrogen9. The hydrogen exploded in the building of unit 1 on 12 March9.

A critical mineral. In 2025, zirconium was on the US list of critical minerals10. The EU and the UK do not list it (see the power chapter).

1700s

  1. 1789

    Science

    Martin Klaproth analyzes a zircon and separates a new earth, zirconia, the oxide of zirconium. 1

1800s

  1. 1824

    Science

    Jöns Berzelius isolates zirconium as a black powder. Humphry Davy failed to do this by electrolysis in 1808. 1

1900s

  1. 1923

    Science

    George de Hevesy and Dirk Coster find hafnium in a Norwegian zircon. 2

  2. 1925

    Science

    Anton Eduard van Arkel and Jan Hendrik de Boer make totally pure zirconium from zirconium tetraiodide. 1

  3. 1944

    Industry

    World production of zirconium concentrates outside the United States is about 17,300 t, the first year with a USGS value. 5

  4. 1949

    Industry

    Trail Ridge in Florida starts to produce titanium minerals and zircon. 3

  5. 1951

    Industry

    The US Bureau of Mines center in Albany, Oregon, begins to make zirconium for the first US nuclear submarine, the USS Nautilus. 4

  6. 1974

    Trade

    The US unit value of zircon concentrates rises from $66 to $276 per t, about four times its 1973 value. 5

2000s

  1. 2001

    Science

    Scientists report a zircon grain from the Jack Hills in Western Australia that is 4,404 million years old, about 130 million years older than any grain found on Earth before. 11

  2. 2010

    Disaster

    At the Moma mine in Mozambique, a settling pond breaks its wall. The flood reaches a village and kills one person. 3

  3. 2011

    Trade

    US prices of standard-grade zircon rise to $2,550 to $2,750 per t. 3

  4. 2011

    Disaster

    At Fukushima Daiichi in Japan, hot zirconium fuel cladding reacts with steam and makes hydrogen. The hydrogen explodes in the building of unit 1. 9

  5. 2012

    Industry

    World zircon production falls. USGS gives weaker demand in China, from slower house building, as the reason. 3

  6. 2014

    Industry

    Eramet starts to mine zircon and titanium minerals at Grande Côte in Senegal. The Senegalese state holds 10% of the mining company. 12

  7. 2016

    Conflict

    Mineral Commodities sues the social worker John Clarke for defamation over his comments on its plans to mine on the Wild Coast of South Africa. 13

  8. 2017

    Conflict

    Mineral Sands Resources sues two lawyers and an activist for defamation after a lecture on its Tormin zircon mine. 13

  9. 2021

    Industry

    Iluka produces 320,000 t of zircon in Australia, up from 174,000 t in 2020. 7

  10. 2021

    Industry

    Richards Bay Minerals in South Africa stops production for part of the year because of safety and security concerns. 7

  11. 2022

    Law and policy

    The Constitutional Court of South Africa rules that a defense against SLAPP suits exists in South African law. It finds that the defendants in these cases had not proven it. 13

  12. 2024

    Industry

    Base Resources ends mining at the Kwale mineral sands mine in Kenya, when the ore reserve is used up. 14

  13. 2025

    Law and policy

    Senegal's President Bassirou Diomaye Faye says that some local people do not benefit from mining. The local mayor asks for a pause at Grande Côte. 12

  14. 2025

    Law and policy

    Zirconium is on the US list of critical minerals of 2025. 10

  15. 2025

    Industry

    USGS estimates world mine production of zirconium concentrates at 1.2 million t. Australia produces a third. 15

Sources

  1. 1

    Royal Society of Chemistry, 2026. Zirconium - Element information, properties and uses , Sections History, Uses and properties, Biological role, Natural abundance.

    Discovery, name, isolation and first pure metal, uses, biological role.

    • Gems that contain zirconium were known in ancient times as zircon.
    • The Ancient Egyptians used zircon gemstones in jewellery.
    • The name is derived from the Persian, ‘zargun’, meaning gold coloured.
    • In 1789, the German chemist, Martin Klaproth analysed a zircon and separated zirconium in the form of its
    • Klaproth failed to isolate the pure metal itself, and Humphry Davy also failed when he tried electrolysis in 1808.
    • It was not until 1824 that the element was isolated, when the Swedish chemist Jöns Berzelius heated potassium hexafluorozirconate
    • with potassium metal and obtained some zirconium as a black powder
    • Totally pure zirconium was only produced in 1925 by the Dutch chemists Anton Eduard van Arkel and Jan Hendrik de Boer by the decomposition of zirconium tetraiodide
    • Humphry Davy also failed when he tried electrolysis in 1808. It was not until 1824 that the element was isolated, when the Swedish chemist Jöns Berzelius heated potassium hexafluorozirconate ... obtained some zirconium as a black powder
    • Totally pure zirconium was only produced in 1925 by the Dutch chemists Anton Eduard van Arkel and Jan Hendrik de Boer
  2. 2

    Royal Society of Chemistry, 2026. Hafnium - Element information, properties and uses , Section History.

    The discovery of hafnium in a Norwegian zircon in 1923.

    • It was finally discovered by George Charles de Hevesy and Dirk Coster at the University of Copenhagen in 1923. It was found in a zirconium mineral, a Norwegian zircon
  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.

    • Placers and paleoplacers have been mined since humans first used metals
    • the first economic extraction of zircon took place only in the first half of the 20th century
    • has been an important domestic source of titanium minerals and zircon production since 1949
    • In 2010, a settling pond at the Moma heavy-mineral sands mine in Mozambique breached its retaining wall and released water, sand, and clay that flooded a nearby village, causing one fatality
    • In 2011, prices of domestic standard-grade bulk zircon increased to between $2,550 and $2,750 per metric ton
    • was in response to weakened demand, particularly in China, because of a slowdown in housing construction
  4. 4

    U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy (Techline, archived by the Internet Archive), 2000. Albany Research Center Scientist Who Invented Titanium, Zirconium Processes Inducted into Inventors Hall of Fame .

    William Kroll's process for zirconium, and zirconium for the USS Nautilus from 1951. The live page no longer exists; this is the archived copy.

    • While at the Center, Dr. Kroll successfully applied his titanium production process to zirconium.
    • In 1951, the Albany Research Center began production of the zirconium used for the first U.S. nuclear submarine, the U.S.S. Nautilus.
  5. 5

    U.S. Geological Survey (C.A. DiFrancesco, J.B. Hedrick, P.J. Loferski, G.M. Bedinger, E.S. Sangine and J. Gambogi), 2023. Zirconium mineral concentrates statistics, in Historical Statistics for Mineral and Material Commodities in the United States (Data Series 140) , ds140-zirconium-2021.xlsx, columns 'Unit value ($/t)', 'Unit value (98$/t)' and 'World production'.

    US unit value of zircon from 1918 and world production outside the United States from 1944, to 2021.

    • World production … 25200 … 680000 … 1040000
    • World production ... 17300
    • Unit value ($/t) ... 66.099 ... 276
  6. 6

    U.S. Geological Survey, 1996. Zirconium and Hafnium, in Mineral Commodity Summaries 1996 , P. 190: domestic production and use.

    The largest US end uses of zirconium in 1995, refractories and foundry.

    • Zircon refractories and foundry applications are the largest end uses for zirconium.
  7. 7

    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.

    • Globally, the leading end uses for zircon were, in descending order, ceramics, refractories and foundry, and zirconium-base chemicals
    • In 2021, Iluka Resources Ltd. produced 320,000 t of zircon from its mining and concentrating operations in Australia, a substantial increase from 174,000 t in 2020
    • was suspended temporarily for a portion of the year because of safety and security concerns surrounding the mine
  8. 8

    International Atomic Energy Agency, 2007. Radiation Protection and NORM Residue Management in the Zircon and Zirconia Industries (Safety Reports Series No. 51) , Sections 2.2.3 (uses of zircon, Table 4), 3.2 (radiological aspects), 4.3.4 (worker doses in milling), 7.1.1 (fusion of zircon).

    Uses of zircon in ceramics and cathode ray tubes (TZMI figures for about 2003), uranium and thorium in zircon, worker doses, and the breakdown of zircon at about 1,800 °C.

    • until recently were incorporated into all colour televisions and computer monitors. In order to absorb X rays, zirconia derived from the addition of zircon to the glass mixture is included
    • Cathode ray tubes 8
  9. 9

    World Nuclear Association, 2026. Fukushima Daiichi Accident , Sections on the events at units 1-3.

    Hydrogen from the reaction of hot zirconium cladding with steam, and the explosion at unit 1 on 12 March 2011.

    • hydrogen, produced by the interaction of the fuel’s very hot zirconium cladding with steam after the water level dropped
    • At 3:36 pm on Saturday 12, there was a hydrogen explosion on the service floor of the building above unit 1 reactor containment
    • hydrogen, produced by the interaction of the fuel's very hot zirconium cladding with steam after the water level dropped ... At 3:36 pm on Saturday 12, there was a hydrogen explosion on the service floor of the building above unit 1 reactor containment
  10. 10

    U.S. Geological Survey (Federal Register vol. 90, no. 214), 2025. Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals , Summary.

    Zirconium is on the 2025 US list of critical minerals.

    • vanadium, ytterbium, yttrium, zinc, and zirconium
  11. 11

    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—about 130 million years older than any previously identified on Earth
  12. 12

    Agence France-Presse, published by France 24, 2025. Giant mine machine swallowing up Senegal's fertile coast .

    The Grande Côte zircon mine in Senegal, the views of local people, the mayor and the company, and statements of the president. Read with Firecrawl; the site refused a script.

    • began mining in 2014 ... The Senegalese state holds 10 percent of its local subsidiary, EGC, which mines the zircon
    • local populations do not benefit ... stop the mining for the moment so serious studies can be carried out
  13. 13

    Columbia University, Global Freedom of Expression, 2023. Mineral Sands Resources (Pty) Ltd v. Reddell; Mineral Commodities Limited v. Dlamini; Mineral Commodities Limited v. Clarke , Case summary and outcome; Facts; Decision overview.

    Summary of the Constitutional Court decision of 14 November 2022 on defamation suits by the owners of the Tormin mine, with the arguments of both sides.

    • On July 18, 2016, Mineral Commodities and its then CEO served summons on Clarke for defamation
    • Mineral Sands and one of its directors issued summons, seeking damages of R1 250 000
    • The Constitutional Court of South Africa ruled that a SLAPP suit defense exists in South African law as part of the broad category of abuse of process. ... the Court found that the defendants in this case had not proven all the requirements for a successful SLAPP suit defence
  14. 14

    Base Resources, 2025. Kwale Operations .

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

    • has come to an end following depletion of the ore reserve in December 2024
  15. 15

    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.

    • 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