By Chisom Ibemere
Zircon is a mineral that belongs to the group nesosilicate with a chemical name of Zirconium. Zircon is gotten from the Persian word “Zargon” which means “gold-hued”.
Zircon is commonly found in the Earth crust. It is an accessory mineral found in Igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks as detrital grains. They have an average size of 0.1-03mm in granite rocks and may be more in pegmatites and carbonites. It is known as a heavy mineral fraction of sandstones due to its resistance to weathering and it’s high specific gravity of 4.68.
Zircon is a hard and stable mineral and resistant to heat. Zircons contains Uranium and Thorium. They have many colours which are yellow, green, gray, reddish brown and may be colourless. The colours are altered on application of heat for instance brown Zircon are changed to colourless and blue Zircons when heated to 800-1000oC.
Zircons are popular in the ceramic industries for decorations. They are equally used in refractories and foundry casting and applied as Zirconia and Zirconium chemicals, in nuclear fuel rods and in water and air purification systems.
They are the key minerals used for geochronoly by geologists.
Australia tops the list of Zircon mining with 37% of the world’s total production while South Africa is the main producer in Africa with 30% of worlds production coming second after Australia.
Zircon deposit are found in Komu, Oyo State and in Jos, Plateau, Nisama and Antah in Kaduna states of Nigeria.