The Mineral Zircon - Zirconium Silicate

Zircon occurs in silica-rich igneous rocks, particularly granite and pegmatite, and also in metamorphic and sedimentary rocks but rarely in workable concentrations. In spite of that, zircon is the dominant commercial zirconium mineral. Weathering and 

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. 

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Another example is found in the analysis of the mineral zircon. We had previously published [4] a spectrum of a positive ion laser desorption spectrum of a sample of the mineral zircon (zirconium silicate) showing uranium as 238U+, present in the sample at a level of approximately 15 parts-per-million [41]. The spectrum, which showed mixed zirconium oxides and hydroxides as the most intense peaks in the spectrum, was taken with a four second delay between the laser pulse and ion detection, in order to allow neutrals to be pumped out of the cell. These conditions had been found adequate for analysis of organic compounds. However, it was found that the reactivity of zirconium was such that the mixed oxides and hydroxides were produced as ion-molecule reaction products during the long trap period. 

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