# Hafnium

A by-product of nuclear-grade zirconium that strengthens jet-engine superalloys and absorbs neutrons in reactor control rods.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/hafnium/

Tech & minor metals · No. 34

- EU critical 2023
- US critical 2025
- India critical 2023
 Tech & minor metals · Foundation · Matter

Its price jumped nearly eightfold in two years, and it hides inside zircon sand, never forming an ore of its own.

Chart: Illustration: Hafnium

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Hafnium is never mined for itself. It rides inside zircon from heavy-mineral sands, about 1.2 Mt of concentrate in 2025, mostly from Australia and South Africa.

##### Three things to know

1. Hafnium's neutron capture cross-section is about 104 barns, far above its twin zirconium, which is why it ends up in reactor control rods.
2. Just 1-2% hafnium strengthens the grain boundaries of nickel superalloys, its leading US use, found in jet engines.
3. No world output or reserve figure exists; supply simply follows nuclear zirconium, drawn from about 1.2 Mt of zircon concentrate in 2025.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Mineral sands**Zircon dug alongside titanium minerals
2. 2 **Zircon concentrate**About 1.2 Mt produced in 2025
3. 3 **Chemical cracking**Broken into zirconium-hafnium intermediates
4. 4 **Separation**Splitting chemical near-twins in few plants
5. 5 **Metal and oxide**Hafnium sponge, metal and oxide
6. 6 **End uses**Superalloys, control rods, chip precursors

##### Go deeper pick a tab to open it in full

## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/hafnium/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/hafnium/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/hafnium/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/hafnium/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/hafnium/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/hafnium/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/hafnium/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/hafnium/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/hafnium/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/hafnium/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/hafnium/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/hafnium/links/index.md)