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The mineralogy of Zirconium

General Properties
Symbol:Zr
Commodity pages:Zirconium
Atomic Number:40
Standard atomic weight (Ar):91.224(2)
Electron configuration:[Kr] 4d2 5s2
Photos
<
Zirconium crystal bar and cube
>
Atomic Properties
Electronegativity (Pauling scale):1.33
Atomic Radius:206 pm
Ionic Radius:72 pm (+4)
1st Ionization energy:640 kJ/mol
1st Electron affinity:-41 kJ/mol
Oxidation States:1,2,3,4
Physical Properties
Standard State:solid
Bonding Type:metallic
Melting Point:2128 K
Boiling Point:4682 K
Density:6.51 g/cm3
Metal/Non-Metal:transition metal
Main isotopes of Zirconium
Isotope% in NatureHalf LifeDecay typeDecay product
88Zrsynthetic83.4dΔ88Y
89Zrsynthetic78.4hΔ89Y
ÎČ+89Y
90Zr51.45%stable
91Zr11.22%stable
92Zr17.15%stable
93Zrtrace1.53×106yÎČ−93Nb
94Zr17.38%>1.1×1017yÎČ-ÎČ- ?94Mo
96Zr2.8%2.0×1019yÎČ-ÎČ-96Mo
ÎČ− ?96Nb
Main ions of Zirconium
NameIonExample minerals
zirconium(II)Zr2+
zirconium(III)Zr3+
zirconium(IV)Zr4+Zircon
Other Information
Year Discovered:1789
Discovered By:
09428580017362063164431.jpg
Martin Heinrich Klaproth
Year Isolated:1824
Isolated By:
06064690017362062967046.jpg
Jöns Jakob Berzelius
Named For:
09800720017272019369758.jpg
after zircon (persian - zargun) meaning "gold-colored"
CPK color coding:#94E0E0
External Links:WikipediaWebElementsLos Alamos National LaboratoryTheodore Gray's PeriodicTable.com
Simple Compounds and Mineral Names
Nitrideszirconium nitrideZrN+3
Sulfideszirconium disulphideZrS2+4
Selenideszirconium diselenideZrSe2+4
Tellurideszirconium ditellurideZrTe2+4
Hydrideszirconium dihydrideZrH2+2
Fluorideszirconium tetrafluorideZrF4+4
Chlorideszirconium dichlorideZrCl2+2
zirconium tetrachlorideZrCl4+4
Bromideszirconium tribromideZrBr3+3
zirconium tetrabromideZrBr4+4
Iodideszirconium diiodideZrI2+2
zirconium triiodideZrI3+3
zirconium tetraiodideZrI4+4
Oxideszirconium dioxideZrO2+4Baddeleyite
Mineral Diversity of Zirconium
4. Oxides 25 valid mineral species
5. Carbonates 3 valid mineral species
6. Borates1 valid mineral species
7. Sulfates 1 valid mineral species
8. Phosphates, Arsenates, Vanadates9 valid mineral species
9. Silicates 102 valid mineral species
Total:141 valid species containing essential Zirconium
Minerals with the greatest weight % of Zirconium
Tazheranite(Zr,Ti,Ca)(O,◻)274.03 %
ZiroiteZrO274.03 %
BaddeleyiteZrO274.03 %
CalzirtiteCa2Zr5Ti2O1651.36 %
LakargiiteCa(Zr,Sn,Ti)O350.88 %
ReiditeZr(SiO4)49.77 %
ZirconZr(SiO4)49.77 %
AllendeiteSc4Zr3O1242.40 %
HiÀrneiteCa2Zr4Mn3+SbTiO1639.42 %
KosnariteKZr2(PO4)336.02 %
Geochemistry of Zirconium
Goldschmidt classification:Lithophile
Zr4+ is commonly concentrated in residual soils and sediments.
Zr4+ is concentrated in deep-sea ferromanganese nodules relative to seawater.
Elemental Abundance for Zirconium
Crust (CRC Handbook)1.65 x 10-4mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Kaye & Laby)1.4 x 10-4mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Greenwood)1.62 x 10-4mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Ahrens/Taylor)1.00 x 10-4mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Ahrens/Weaver)2.10 x 10-4mass fraction, kg/kg
Upper Crust (Ahrens/Taylor)1.90 x 10-4mass fraction, kg/kg
Upper Crust (Ahrens/Shaw)2.40 x 10-4mass fraction, kg/kg
Sea Water (CRC Handbook)3 x 10-11mass per volume fraction, kg/L
Sea Water (Kaye & Laby)2.6 x 10-11mass per volume fraction, kg/L
The Sun (Kaye & Laby)1.12 x 10-5atom mole fraction relative to Si=1
Solar System (Kaye & Laby)1.14 x 10-5atom mole fraction relative to Si=1
Solar System (Ahrens)1.14 x 10-5 (6.4%)atom mole fraction relative to Si=1 (% uncertainty)
Element association of Zirconium in the Mineral World
This table compares the known valid mineral species listed listed with Zirconium and the other elements listed based on the official IMA formula. Note that unlike other sections on this page this includes non-essential elements.

The first data column contains the total number of minerals listed with Zirconium and the element listed for that row.

The second data column lists this number as a percentage of all minerals listed with Zirconium.

The final data column compares this percentage against the percentage of all minerals that contain the element listed in each row.

Click on a heading to sort.
ElementValid Minerals listed with element and Zirconium% of Zr mineralsRelative to % in all minerals
Oxygen151 minerals with Zr and O100.00%23.17% higher
Silicon108 minerals with Zr and Si71.52%159.83% higher
Sodium88 minerals with Zr and Na58.28%213.29% higher
Hydrogen86 minerals with Zr and H56.95%2.47% higher
Calcium77 minerals with Zr and Ca50.99%104.76% higher
Iron41 minerals with Zr and Fe27.15%21.51% higher
Titanium38 minerals with Zr and Ti25.17%256.77% higher
Manganese34 minerals with Zr and Mn22.52%93.10% higher
Chlorine23 minerals with Zr and Cl15.23%107.47% higher
Potassium23 minerals with Zr and K15.23%54.34% higher
Niobium21 minerals with Zr and Nb13.91%350.51% higher
Fluorine18 minerals with Zr and F11.92%51.48% higher
Strontium18 minerals with Zr and Sr11.92%333.30% higher
Aluminium12 minerals with Zr and Al7.95%60.06% lower
Cerium11 minerals with Zr and Ce7.28%135.98% higher
Carbon10 minerals with Zr and C6.62%18.82% lower
Phosphorus10 minerals with Zr and P6.62%46.02% lower
Magnesium9 minerals with Zr and Mg5.96%55.16% lower
Barium7 minerals with Zr and Ba4.64%0.06% lower
Lithium6 minerals with Zr and Li3.97%98.74% higher
Yttrium5 minerals with Zr and Y3.31%41.79% higher
Chromium4 minerals with Zr and Cr2.65%41.55% higher
Tungsten4 minerals with Zr and W2.65%190.55% higher
Beryllium3 minerals with Zr and Be1.99%7.99% lower
Boron3 minerals with Zr and B1.99%60.19% lower
Scandium2 minerals with Zr and Sc1.32%206.70% higher
Antimony2 minerals with Zr and Sb1.32%76.87% lower
Caesium2 minerals with Zr and Cs1.32%158.77% higher
Lanthanum2 minerals with Zr and La1.32%2.58% lower
Sulfur1 mineral with Zr and S0.66%96.99% lower
Vanadium1 mineral with Zr and V0.66%86.24% lower
Copper1 mineral with Zr and Cu0.66%95.11% lower
Arsenic1 mineral with Zr and As0.66%94.90% lower
Molybdenum1 mineral with Zr and Mo0.66%57.75% lower
Tin1 mineral with Zr and Sn0.66%63.68% lower
Tantalum1 mineral with Zr and Ta0.66%41.68% lower
Lead1 mineral with Zr and Pb0.66%93.86% lower
Uranium1 mineral with Zr and U0.66%87.22% lower
Periodic Table
1H 2He
3Li 4Be 5B 6C 7N 8O 9F 10Ne
11Na 12Mg 13Al 14Si 15P 16S 17Cl 18Ar
19K 20Ca 21Sc 22Ti 23V 24Cr 25Mn 26Fe 27Co 28Ni 29Cu 30Zn 31Ga 32Ge 33As 34Se 35Br 36Kr
37Rb 38Sr 39Y 40Zr 41Nb 42Mo 43Tc 44Ru 45Rh 46Pd 47Ag 48Cd 49In 50Sn 51Sb 52Te 53I 54Xe
55Cs 56Ba 57La 72Hf 73Ta 74W 75Re 76Os 77Ir 78Pt 79Au 80Hg 81Tl 82Pb 83Bi 84Po 85At 86Rn
87Fr 88Ra 89Ac 104Rd 105Db 106Sg 107Bh 108Hs 109Mt 110Ds 111Rg 112Cn 113Nh 114Fl 115Mc 116Lv 117Ts 118Og
 
58Ce 59Pr 60Nd 61Pm 62Sm 63Eu 64Gd 65Tb 66Dy 67Ho 68Er 69Tm 70Yb 71Lu
90Th 91Pa 92U 93Np 94Pu 95Am 96Cm 97Bk 98Cf 99Es 100Fm 101Md 102No 103Lr
Default Categories CPK Electronegativity Atomic Radius Lowest Oxidation Highest Oxidation Crustal Abundance Goldschmidt Mineral Species Minerals with Zr Relative Frequency
Yttrium << Zirconium >> Niobium


Most widespread minerals containing Zirconium
This list of minerals containing Zirconium is built from the mindat.org locality database. This is based on the number of localities entered for mineral species and is therefore slanted towards minerals interesting to collectors with less coverage of common rock-forming-minerals so it does not give an undistorted distribution of Zirconium mineral species. It is more useful when comparing rare species rather than common species.
NameFormulaCrystal SystemMindat Localities
ZirconZr(SiO4)Tetragonal9054
BaddeleyiteZrO2Monoclinic451
EudialyteNa15Ca6Fe3Zr3Si(Si25O73)(O,OH,H2O)3(Cl,OH)2Trigonal282
ZirconoliteCaZrTi2O7Orthorhombic199
CatapleiiteNa2Zr(Si3O9) · 2H2OMonoclinic177
WöhleriteNa2Ca4ZrNb(Si2O7)2O3FMonoclinic141
LĂ„veniteNa2Ca2Mn2Zr2(Si2O7)2O2F2Monoclinic94
ElpiditeNa2ZrSi6O15 · 3H2OOrthorhombic73
RosenbuschiteNa6Ca6Zr3Ti(Si2O7)4O2F6Triclinic68
HiortdahliteNa2Ca4(Ca0.5Zr0.5)Zr(Si2O7)2OF3Triclinic52
Photos
06321060017271927764987.jpg
Zircon, etc.

Astore Valley, Astore District, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan
07378450017271921286769.jpg
Baddeleyite

Laacher See Volcanic Complex, Germany
01636200017691007958817.jpg
Eudialyte, etc.

Poudrette quarry, Mont Saint-Hilaire, La Vallée-du-Richelieu RCM, Montérégie, Québec, Canada
00265720017271927781708.jpg
Zirconolite

Pumice quarry, Ribeira Grande, SĂŁo Miguel, Azores, Portugal
06321060017271927764987.jpg
Zircon, etc.

Astore Valley, Astore District, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan
09990050017786947871218.jpg
Baddeleyite

Laacher See Volcanic Complex, Germany
01398130017690995784420.jpg
Eudialyte, etc.

Poudrette quarry, Mont Saint-Hilaire, La Vallée-du-Richelieu RCM, Montérégie, Québec, Canada
06558710017411394253308.jpg
Zirconolite

Pumice quarry, Ribeira Grande, SĂŁo Miguel, Azores, Portugal
06321060017271927764987.jpg
Zircon, etc.

Astore Valley, Astore District, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan
07378450017271921286769.jpg
Baddeleyite

Laacher See Volcanic Complex, Germany
03512960017933099955501.jpg
Eudialyte, etc.

Poudrette quarry, Mont Saint-Hilaire, La Vallée-du-Richelieu RCM, Montérégie, Québec, Canada
00265720017271927781708.jpg
Zirconolite

Pumice quarry, Ribeira Grande, SĂŁo Miguel, Azores, Portugal

Localities with greatest number of different Zirconium mineral species
1Poudrette quarry (De-Mix quarry; Demix quarry; Uni-Mix quarry; CarriÚre Mont Saint-Hilaire; MSH), Mont Saint-Hilaire, La Vallée-du-Richelieu RCM, Montérégie, Québec, Canada43 Zr minerals
Poços de Caldas alkaline complex, Minas Gerais, Brazil20 Zr minerals
3Alluaiv Mountain, Lovozersky District, Murmansk Oblast, Russia19 Zr minerals
4Demix-Varennes quarry, Saint-Amable sill, Varennes & St-Amable, Lajemmerais RCM, Montérégie, Québec, Canada14 Zr minerals
5Karnasurt Mountain, Lovozersky District, Murmansk Oblast, Russia14 Zr minerals
6Wind Mountain, Cornudas Mountains, Otero County, New Mexico, USA14 Zr minerals
7Burpala alkaline massif, Maigunda River, Mama River Basin, Buryatia, Russia13 Zr minerals
Água de Pau Volcano, São Miguel, Azores, Portugal13 Zr minerals


Important ores of Zirconium
NameFormulaCrystal System
ZirconZr(SiO4)Tetragonal
Photos
06030090017590209734661.jpg
Zircon

Poudrette quarry, Mont Saint-Hilaire, La Vallée-du-Richelieu RCM, Montérégie, Québec, Canada
08258610017271927816294.jpg
Zircon

Ohngaing, Mogok Valley, Mogok Township, Pyin-Oo-Lwin District, Mandalay Region, Myanmar
04907120017271927799269.jpg
Zircon

Poudrette quarry, Mont Saint-Hilaire, La Vallée-du-Richelieu RCM, Montérégie, Québec, Canada
00900330017819933253417.jpg
Zircon

Store Kufjord, Alta, Troms og Finnmark, Norway
01845910017589843748848.jpg
Zircon

Poudrette quarry, Mont Saint-Hilaire, La Vallée-du-Richelieu RCM, Montérégie, Québec, Canada
08258610017271927816294.jpg
Zircon

Ohngaing, Mogok Valley, Mogok Township, Pyin-Oo-Lwin District, Mandalay Region, Myanmar
04907120017271927799269.jpg
Zircon

Poudrette quarry, Mont Saint-Hilaire, La Vallée-du-Richelieu RCM, Montérégie, Québec, Canada
04694900017819881418525.jpg
Zircon

Store Kufjord, Alta, Troms og Finnmark, Norway
07460380017590007098712.jpg
Zircon

Poudrette quarry, Mont Saint-Hilaire, La Vallée-du-Richelieu RCM, Montérégie, Québec, Canada
00793830017272473087663.jpg
Zircon

Ohngaing, Mogok Valley, Mogok Township, Pyin-Oo-Lwin District, Mandalay Region, Myanmar
04907120017271927799269.jpg
Zircon

Poudrette quarry, Mont Saint-Hilaire, La Vallée-du-Richelieu RCM, Montérégie, Québec, Canada
00900330017819933253417.jpg
Zircon

Store Kufjord, Alta, Troms og Finnmark, Norway
 
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