Zirconium: Extraction
Why zircon's fate is tied to titanium mining
Why zircon's fate is tied to titanium mining What this tab covers How it is mined, drilled or grown, and processed into a tradeable form: the main methods compared, their unit economics, by-products, and the companies that do this work globally and in India.Zircon, zirconium silicate, is a dense, durable mineral that collects in heavy-mineral sands with ilmenite and rutile. It is dredged or dry-mined, then separated by gravity, magnetic and electrostatic methods. Mining decisions turn on the whole suite of minerals, so about 95% of zirconium supply is a companion product of titanium sands. In the United States, one company recovers zircon in Florida and Georgia and another reprocesses old tailings in California. Some zircon is cracked chemically to make zirconia, chemicals and nuclear-grade metal, with hafnium removed.
Almost all zircon is a co-product of heavy-mineral sands mining, where it is separated from ilmenite and rutile. Mine plans depend on the combined value of titanium minerals and zircon, so zircon supply does not respond freely to its own price. Most zircon is used as milled sand. A smaller stream is turned into chemicals and zirconia, and a few plants in France, the US, China, Russia and India make zirconium metal, where the hafnium that always accompanies zirconium must be removed for nuclear use.
Methods compared
| Method | Share of supply | Typical scale | Recovery / efficiency | By-products | Unit cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Co-production from heavy-mineral sands | nearly all world zircon output (1.2 Mt gross in 2025, USGS); US output is a co-product of heavy-mineral sands mining | Iluka 159.2 kt zircon in 2025; Kenmare Moma 50 kt; Australia 400 kt and South Africa 270 kt national output (USGS) | n/a | zircon is itself a co-product with ilmenite, rutile, monazite | Iluka unit cash production cost A$1,054/t of zircon, rutile and synthetic rutile (2025) |
| Zirconium chemicals and zirconia | about 11% of zircon demand (EU CRM 2023) | n/a | n/a | silica waste | n/a |
| Nuclear-grade zirconium metal with hafnium separation | about 3% of zircon demand (superalloys and nuclear, EU CRM 2023) | about 50 t of zirconium is processed per tonne of hafnium recovered (Reuters 2023) | n/a | hafnium | zirconium sponge $22/kg ex-works China in 2025 (Argus via USGS) |
How each method works
Co-production from heavy-mineral sandsSands are dredged or dry-mined, concentrated on spirals and passed through a dry plant. Zircon reports to the non-magnetic, non-conductive fraction and is cleaned by further gravity and electrostatic steps into premium and standard grades; lower-grade concentrates and tailings are also sold.
Shares mining costs with titanium minerals; supply depends on ore-body zircon content and titanium economics.
USGS MCS 2026; Iluka Dec 2025 quarterly; Kenmare Q4 2025 Zirconium chemicals and zirconiaZircon is fused with caustic soda, leached to zirconium oxychloride (ZOC) crystals and then precipitated and calcined into zirconia, or reacted to other salts. Fused zirconia is also made by arc-melting zircon with carbon.
Higher value added than sand; China concentrates the chemical chain.
EU CRM study 2023 Nuclear-grade zirconium metal with hafnium separationZircon is carbochlorinated to zirconium tetrachloride, hafnium is separated by solvent extraction or extractive distillation, and purified chloride is reduced with magnesium to sponge, which is melted and fabricated into Zircaloy tubes and sheet.
Strategic and high value; few plants, tied to reactor construction.
USGS MCS 2026; Reuters via Kitco (Feb 2023); EU CRM 2023 Unit economics are indicative ranges from the sources named; costs vary widely by deposit, region and year.By-product supply
Companionality is about 95%: zircon is recovered mainly with titanium minerals from mineral sands. A mine's output of zircon is set by its ore body and its titanium plan, so higher zircon prices do not quickly bring more supply. New supply comes from projects in Australia, Mozambique, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Tanzania (USGS 2026). Because the top producers were few (Iluka 26%, Rio Tinto 19%, Tronox 14%, Cristal 6% in 2013, Tilton and Guzman 2016), supply discipline has also shaped prices.
Share produced as a by-product
About 95% of primary supply comes as a by-product of titanium mineral sands (Nassar, Graedel & Harper 2015, approximate).Who does it: global
| Company | Country | Activity | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iluka Resources | Australia | mineral sands mining (Eucla Basin, Murray Basin), zircon sales | 159 kt zircon sand produced (157.2 kt sold at $1,643/t) | 2025 | Iluka quarterly review to 31 Dec 2025 |
| Kenmare Resources | Ireland/Mozambique | Moma mineral sands | 50 kt primary zircon | 2025 | Kenmare Q4 2025 production report |
| Rio Tinto (Richards Bay Minerals, QMM) 2025 volume not found; Rio Tinto had 19% of world zircon output in 2013. | UK/Australia | mineral sands in South Africa and Madagascar | not published | 2025 | Tilton and Guzman (2016) |
| Tronox 2025 volume not found; Tronox had 14% in 2013 and later bought Cristal (6%). | US/UK | mineral sands in South Africa and Australia | not published | 2025 | Tilton and Guzman (2016) |
| Chemours USGS withholds US output (rounded to under 100 kt) to avoid disclosing company data. | US | mineral sands mining in Florida and Georgia | not published | 2025 | USGS MCS 2026 |
| Framatome Volume not published; described as the largest hafnium producer. | France | nuclear-grade zirconium and hafnium | not published | 2025 | Argus (Oct 2025) |
Who does it: India
| Company | Country | Activity | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IREL (India) Ltd Zircon output not published separately. | India | beach-sand mining and separation including zircon (Chavara, Manavalakurichi, OSCOM) | not published | FY2025 | IREL website (Chavara capacity 262,900 t/yr of processed minerals) |
| Kerala Minerals and Metals (KMML) Zircon volume not published. | India | mineral separation with zircon as a co-product | not published | FY2025 | KMML organisational details |
| Nuclear Fuel Complex (Department of Atomic Energy) Volume not published. | India | zirconium sponge and alloy tubes for Indian reactors | not published | FY2025 |
India mines zircon through IREL and KMML, but its output is not listed separately by USGS. It is the second-largest zircon importer after China, buying 94.6 kt worth $178 million in 2024, 8.1% of world imports by value (Comtrade), mostly for ceramic tiles. Zirconium is on India's 2023 critical list.