Zircon 101: : where will new demand come from?

• Autores: Siobhan Lismore-Scott, Cameron Perks
• Localización: Industrial Minerals, ISSN 0019-8544, Nº. 597, 2017 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Octubre-Noviembre)
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Zircon is important - and some would argue irreplaceable - in markets such as ceramics, which accounts for around 50% of demand. But, as Cameron Perks, IM Correspondent, discovers, there are new sources of interest within that same industry - and demand projections vary wildly.

    Zircon (zirconium silicate - ZrSiO4) is an important source of zirconia (zirconium oxide - ZrO2) and zirconium (Zr).

    Due to its density of 4.68, economic quantities of zircon are primarily contained within heavy mineral sands (HMS), a type of sedimentary deposit. Additional small quantities are also currently derived from baddeleyite mining in Kovdor, Russia. Zirconium and zirconia may be derived from various other minerals, with a notable example being eudialyte contained within Alkane Resources' Australian Dubbo Project.