720 



UNITED STATES MINERAL RESOURCES 



Table 161. — Identified world resources of zircon 



[Identified resources: Specific, identified mineral deposits that may or 

 may not be evaluated as to extent and grade, and whotse contained 

 minerals may or may not be profitably recoverable with existing tech- 

 nology and economic conditions. Figures are rounded. NA, not available. 

 Data from Ange.elli and Chaar (1967), Brazil Dept. Nacional da Produ?ao 

 Mineral (1967), Industrial Minerals (1971). Kauffman (1956). Stamper 

 and Chin (1970b), Tolbert (1966), U.S. Bur. Mines (1969,1972)] 



Zircon 

 equivalent, in 

 Cksuntry thousands of 



short tons 



United States 10.800 



Australia 8,600 



U.S.S.R. 6,000 



India 3,360 to 5,000 



South Africa, Republic of 2,500 



Brazil 2,500+ 



Ceylon 1,000 



Sierra Leone 1,000 



New Zealand 400+ 



Uruguay 136 



Argentina 14 



Ivory Coast NA 



Japan NA 



Korea NA 



Malagasy Republic (Madagascar) NA 



Malaysia NA 



Nigeria NA 



Thailand NA 



United Arab Republic NA 



Total 36,310+ 



Table 162. — Identified zircon resources of the United States 



[Identified resources: Specific, identified mineral deposits that may or 

 may not be evaluated as to extent and grade, and whose contained 

 minerals may or may not be profitably recoverable with existing tech- 

 nology and economic conditions. Data from Dow and Batty (1961), Kauff- 

 man and Holt (1965), Wessel (1958), Williams (1964)] 



Zircon re- 

 sources, in 

 State thousands of 



short tons 



Florida 5,400 



Georgia 350 



North Carolina 22 



South Carolina 1,275 



New Jersey 1,520 



California 1,500 



Idaho 280 



Montana 94 



Wyoming 120 



New Mexico 98 



Oregon 90 



Utah 59 



Washington 6 



Total 10,814 



Florida and Georgia can be considered as reserves. 

 The remainder of the identified zircon resources in 

 the Unite(i States is at present not competitive 

 commercially. 



HYPOTHETICAL RESOURCES 



Hypothetical resources of zirconium and hafnium 

 are difficult to quantify. Untested areas along the 

 coasts of Africa, Asia, and South America, and off- 

 shore deposits in shallow waters throughout the 

 world contain concentrations of zircon comparable 

 to those in known deposits. Similarly, fossil placers 



in sandstone and metasedimentary rocks, and alkalic 

 igneous rocks on all continents contain great quanti- 

 ties of zircon. However, the added cost of mining and 

 separating most hard-rock deposits excludes them 

 from consideration as resources in the near future. 



Byproduct zircon and baddeleyite may become in- 

 creasingly important sources of zirconium and haf- 

 nium. Phosphate deposits, such as those mined in 

 Florida (Stow, 1968), and sand and gravel deposits 

 in Alabama and elsewhere in the United States con- 

 tain substantial amounts of zircon that are potential- 

 ly recoverable. Baddeleyite^bearing copper ores at 

 Palabora in South Africa (South Africa Mining and 

 Engineering Jour., 1970) currently yield zirconium 

 concentrates in addition to copper, iron, and phos- 

 phate products. Many other ores that require find- 

 ing and beneficiation contain minor amounts of 

 zirconium minerals that are potentially recoverable. 



PROBLEMS FOR RESEARCH 



Zircon is currently available in excess of projected 

 demand for the next few decades. Environmental 

 problems such as water pollution and despoilment of 

 beaches, and competitive land use in some areas, may 

 interfere with the production from placer deposits 

 that are worked principally for titanium and by- 

 product zircon. If the resources in these areas be- 

 come unavailable, the supply of zircon will be dras- 

 tically reduced in the United States, and alternate 

 sources will be required. 



Research directed toward discovery of alternate 

 sources of zircon is needed. This research should 

 include the search for high-grade primary ores as 

 well as low-grade byproduct or coproduct ores. 

 Sampling and analysis of tailings of various types of 

 beneficiated ores, and sampling of sands in sand and 

 gravel deposits from which washed and sized sand 

 products are currently produced, mig-ht disclose 

 potential sources from which zircon can be obtained. 

 Studies of heavy-mineral concentrations in friable 

 sandstone formations in areas where competitive 

 land use and environmental problems are not likely 

 to interfere with mining should also be made. Be- 

 cause of the common association of uranium and 

 thorium with zirconium-bearing minerals, some 

 deposits may be detected by radiometric surveys. 



The possibility of recovery of zircon from offshore 

 deposits in shallow waters and of zirconium and 

 hafnium from manganese nodules on the sea floor 

 (Mero, 1972) should also be examined. The recovery 

 of zirconium and hafnium from manganiferous no- 

 dules, however, would be completely dependent upon 

 the recovery and processing of the nodules for man- 

 ganese and other metals and would therefore be a 



