Zirconium is a chemical element with symbol Zr and atomic number 40. The name of zirconium is taken from the name of the mineral zircon, the most important source of zirconium. The word zircon comes from the Persian word zargun زرگون, meaning “gold-colored”. Zirconium is a lustrous, grey-white, strong transition metal that resembles hafnium and, to a lesser extent, titanium.

The principal commercial source of zirconium is zircon [ZrSiO₄]. As of 2013, two-thirds of zircon mining occurs in Australia and South Africa. Zircon resources exceed 60 million tonnes worldwide and annual worldwide zirconium production is approximately 900,000 tonnes. Zirconium also occurs in more than 140 other minerals, including the commercially useful ores baddeleyite [ZrO₂] and kosnarite [KZr₂(PO₄)₃].

Zircon crystals Zr(SiO4) in albite Na(AlSi3O8); Pegmatite №24, Vavnbed Mt, Lovozero Massif, Kola Peninsula, Murmanskaja Oblast’, Northern Region, Russia; biggest crystal 5 x 5 mm

Zircon crystal Zr(SiO4) in albite Na(AlSi3O8); Pegmatite №24, Vavnbed Mt, Lovozero Massif, Kola Peninsula, Murmanskaja Oblast’, Northern Region, Russia; FOV: 25 mm

Zirconolite CaZrTi2O7 in microcline K(AlSi3O8); Skalna Brama pegmatite, Szklarska Poręba District, Karkonosze Mts (Karkonosze Massif), Lower Silesia (Dolnośląskie), Poland; 12mm (top crystal), 10mm (crystal in the middle), 7mm (bottom crystal)

Eudialyte crystals Na15Ca6(Fe,Mn)3Zr3[Si25O73](O,OH,H2O)3(OH,Cl)2 in alkaline rock; Kirovskii apatite mine, Kukisvumchorr Mt, Khibiny Massif, Kola Peninsula, Murmanskaja Oblast’, Northern Region, Russia; 47 x 39 x 25 mm

Yellowish, elongated crystals of zircon Zr(SiO4) within black pyroxene var. aegirine NaFeSi2O6 and beige feldspar var. microcline K(AlSi3O8); Mount Malosa, Zomba District, Malawi; 51 x 44 x 23 mm

Octahedral crystal of zircon Zr(SiO4); Donskoy quarry, Mazurovskoe Zr deposit, Oktyabr’skii Massif (Mariupol’skii), Azov Sea Region, Donetsk (Donets’k) Oblast’, Ukraine; crystal about 5 mm

Octahedral crystal of zircon Zr(SiO4); Donskoy quarry, Mazurovskoe Zr deposit, Oktyabr’skii Massif (Mariupol’skii), Azov Sea Region, Donetsk (Donets’k) Oblast’, Ukraine; crystal about 7 mm

Brown, lustrous crystal of britholite-(Ce) Ca2(Ce,Ca)3(SiO4,PO4)3(OH,F) with small, beige zircon crystals ZrSiO4 and black, elongated pyroxene var. aegirine NaFeSi2O6 in marioupolite; Donskoy quarry, Mazurovskoe Zr deposit, Oktyabr’skii Massif (Mariupol’skii), Azov Sea Region, Donetsk (Donets’k) Oblast’, Ukraine; britholite crystal 3 mm long

Two fragments of crystals of zircons Zr(SiO4); Marabá, Carajás mineral province, Pará, Brazil; bigger crystal about 9 mm

Octahedral crystals of gray yttropyrochlore-(Y) (Y,Ca,U)1-2(Nb,Ta,Ti)2(O,OH)7 and red-brown zircon Zr(SiO4) on granite; South Cheyenne Creek, Cheyenne District (St. Peters Dome District), El Paso Co., Colorado, USA; yttropyrochlore crystal about 7 mm

Single crystal of red-brown lorenzenite Na2Ti2(Si2O6)O3 (usually enriched in Zr) with only minor matrix attached; Selsurt Mt, Lovozero Massif, Kola Peninsula, Murmanskaja Oblast’, Northern Region, Russia; 16 x 11 x 5 mm

Large crystal of eudialyte Na15Ca6(Fe,Mn)3Zr3[Si25O73](O,OH,H2O)3(OH,Cl)2 in alkaline rock; Kirovskii apatite mine, Kukisvumchorr Mt, Khibiny Massif, Kola Peninsula, Murmanskaja Oblast’, Northern Region, Russia; crystal about 12 x 7 mm

Yellowish, elongated crystals of zircon Zr(SiO4) within black pyroxene var. aegirine NaFeSi2O6 and beige feldspar var. microcline K(AlSi3O8); Mount Malosa, Zomba District, Malawi; zircon crystal: 12 mm long