Zirconium is the eleventh most abundant element in the earth’s crust, which contains 0.028 percent of this element. It is more abundant than copper, lead, nickel, or zinc. Zirconium minerals always contain from 0.5 to 2 percent of chemically similar hafnium, which seldom occurs naturally by itself.

The principal natural sources of zirconium and hafnium are the minerals zircon (Zr, Hf)Si04, and baddleyite (Zr, Hf)02.

1 PRODUCTION AND PRICE

Table 7.1 gives the annual production of zirconium concentrate by the principal producing countries of the non-Communist world, excluding the United States.

U. S. production in these years was around 150,000 short tons. Thus, Australia and the United States are the principal zirconium-producing nations. Most of their production was from dredging of black sands on beaches and in stream beds, where zircon has been concentrated hydraulically along with other relatively dense minerals such as rutile (Ti02), ilmenite (FeTi03), and monazite (Chap. 6).

Principal U. S. producers of zircon concentrates in these years were E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company and Titanium Enterprises, Inc., with operations primarily in northern Florida and southern Georgia.

In the 1960s, hafnium-free zirconium had been produced by several U. S. companies

including Amax, Inc., National Distillers and Chemicals Corporation, Columbia-National Cor­poration, and Wah Chang Corporation, but in 1978, the only U. S. producer of hafnium-free zirconium sponge was Teledyne Wah Chang Albany Corporation, with annual capacity of 7.5 million lb [N2]. Western Zirconium then announced plans to produce 3 to 4 million lb/year. In France, Pechiney Ugine Kuhlmann was increasing capacity to 4 million lb/year. Indian zirconium production capacity was around 0.1 million lb/year. Hafnium-free zirconium has also been produced in England, Canada, Japan, West Germany, and the Soviet Union.

Prices in 1974 were [A2]

Zircon concentrate Zirconium, hafnium-free Sponge

Sheets, strip, bars Hafnium Sponge Bar and plate