Zircon and Rutile

What is
Zircon?

Named from its containing the element, zirconium;

which was named from the Persian, zar "gold" and

gun "like" which translates "like gold".
The green coloring in many rounded pebbles

usually indicates the Zircon is radioactive variety.

Its chemical name is zirconium silicate and its

corresponding chemical formula is ZrSiO4

The dark brown to black color observed in most

Zircon crystals is caused from iron oxide impurities.

Properties of Zircon
Zircon occurs in many

colors, including red,

pink, brown, yellow,
hazel, or black. It can
also be colorless.
The color of zircons

can sometimes be
changed by heat
treatment.

 Depending on the

amount of heat
applied, colorless,
blue, or golden-yellow
zircons can be made.
The development of

pink, red, and purple

zircon occurs after
hundreds of millions
of years.

Single crystal of
lustrous, dark
brown Zircon
with no matrix
attached.

Single Prismatic
Zircon Crystal

Large Zircon
Crystal

Large crystal
of lustrous,
dark redbrown Zircon.
The Zircon
crystal is
internally
translucent
and
fl uoresces
bright yellow
under UV
illumination.

Sharp crystals of
brown Zircon
with pseudooctahedral
crystal form. The
main crystal is
complete and
undamaged.

Brown PseudoOctahedral Zircon

Doubly
Terminated Gray
Zircon Crystal

Doubly
terminated gray
Zircon crystal
that fluoresces
yellow under UV
illumination. The
crystal has small
intersecting
crystals and
appears fully
crystallized on all
surfaces.

Doubly
Terminated
Zircon Crystal

Large doubly
terminate redbrown Zircon
crystal with
glassy crystal
faces. The Zircon
crystals is fully
developed on all
faces with no
point of
attachment - a
floater crystal.

Gemmy Red
Zircon Crystal

Translucent red
Zircon crystal
with smooth
crystal faces and
pyramidal
termination. One
prism face has a
slot-shaped
contact where it
intersected an
adjacent mica
crystal.

Rich cluster of
many yellow
Zircon crystals up
to 12 mm mixed
with Quartz. The
Zircon fluoresces
dull yellow under
UV illumination.

Yellow Zircon
Crystals

Lustrous
transparent redbrown Zircon
crystal with
prismatic form
and four-sided
pyramidal
termination.

Zircon Pyramidal
Crystal on Matrix

The Stages involved

in the Pure Zircon
Process are:
Calcining the sample with a borate mineral
at 1 200 C forfour hours
grinding the sample to achieve a particle
size of 15-20 um
leaching the calcine with a dilute acid
solution.

Benefits of the
process:
maintains particle size
lowers the radioactivity level
removes impurities including iron,
aluminium, titanium, thorium and uranium
avoids introducing new impurities
protects crystal integrity.

Uses and
Application
s

Applications
Zircon is mainly consumed as a pacifier in the
decorative ceramics industry.
It is also the principal precursor to metallic
zirconium.
Zircon is an important gemstone, with several
color forms used in various forms of jewelry. Zircon
is also the most significant ore of the element
zirconium.
it is also the most important ore of the rare
element hafnium, which can be present in
considerable quantities in Zircon.

Uses
foundries as sand moulds
refractories as lining for steel ladles and
furnaces
ceramics as glazes, pigments and enamels
zirconia production
zirconium chemicals, metals and alloys.
More than half of the commercially produced
zircon is consumed in the ceramic industry as
an opacifier in glazes.

What is Rutile?

Rutile is a major ore of titanium, a metal used

for high tech alloys because of its light weight,
high strength and resistance to corrosion.
is also unwittingly of major importance to the
gemstone markets.
It also forms its own interesting and beautiful
mineral specimens.
is a titanium oxide mineral that is most
commonly found in granites, pegmatites and
metamorphic rocks.

It is also found in
sands derived from
the weathering of
these rocks.
Rutile also forms as
slender crystals within
quartz and micas.
It is a common
mineral in the alluvial
sands that are
dredged for magnetite
and ilmenite.

Physical
Characteristics
Color: is black or
reddish brown in large
thick crystals or golden
yellow or rusty yellow as
inclusions or in thin
crystals.
Transparency:
Crystals are transparent
in rather thin crystals
otherwise opaque.

Uses of
lightweight, high strength,
Rutile
non-corrosive metal are
aerospace, automobiles,
sports, and medicine.

its main use is in paint as a

paint pigment. It replaced lead
as the most common paint
pigment used in the
manufacture of paint.
Other uses include a coating
for tiles, and it is used to treat
the air, both to preserve fruits

END