Modern Uses of Zircon and Zirconium Oxide

760 000 toimes of zirconium mineral were produced during the year 2000. The un-pubhshed US production figure is excluded from this total. Australia produced 353 000 toimes. South Africa 270000 tonnes and Ukraine 75 000 tonnes [19.3]. 

After different manufacturing processes only a small part (5%) of this quantity is used for production of zirconium metal and alloys. The main quantity is used as zirconium silicate (the mineral zircon), as zirconia (zirconium oxide) in conventional and advanced ceramic appHcations and for production of zirconium chemicals. 

The mineral baddeleyite was discovered on Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1892. It is named after its discoverer, the mineralogist Joseph Baddeley. The main deposits of baddeleyite are today in Brazil, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Russia. 

Baddeleyite is zirconium dioxide and thus, from a technical point of view, a better raw material than zircon, but its high price and limited availability have made it less attractive than zircon sand. 

The oxide can be manufactured from the mineral zircon by caustic fusion at 650°C. ZrSiO -I- 4NaOH Na ZrOj -i- Na SiOj + 2H O 

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