Minerals Hub / Geography & Supply Chains / Where the world's zircon and rutile come from
Geography & Supply Chains · Zircon · 5 min read
Where the world's zircon and rutile come from
A country-by-country reading of the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 tables for zirconium mineral concentrates and rutile, with each figure's basis, estimate status and edition stated.
Reviewed by Peter Uppal
The short version
In the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, Australia leads estimated 2025 mine production of both zirconium mineral concentrates and rutile, with South Africa second for zircon concentrates and Sierra Leone second for rutile. On this publication's arithmetic from those MCS 2026 estimates, three countries produced about 91% of the world's rutile in 2025 (USGS gives no separate US or China rutile figure), and two produced about 54–56% of its zirconium mineral concentrates. The two tables are on different bases, zircon concentrates in gross weight and rutile in TiO₂ content, so their tonnages cannot be compared with each other.
Two tables, two bases
USGS counts the two minerals differently. The MCS 2026 zirconium table reports zirconium mineral concentrate mine production in thousand t, gross weight, and marks the production values as estimated. Its reserves column is on another basis again, thousand t of ZrO₂ content, calculated as 65% of gross weight. The titanium chapter of the same edition gives its data in thousand t of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) content.
Zirconium mineral concentrates
The MCS 2026 table gives a rounded world total of 1,200 thousand t in 2025, against 1,300 thousand t in 2024, both estimated.
Two countries lead it. In the MCS 2026 estimates, Australia produced 400 thousand t in 2025, the same as in 2024, and South Africa produced 270 thousand t in 2025, against 290 thousand t in 2024. Mozambique follows at an estimated 160 thousand t in 2025; its 2024 value of 124 thousand t is footnoted as reported.
The other rows of the MCS 2026 table, estimated 2025 production in thousand t of gross weight, are:
- China 100, Senegal 70, Indonesia 52, Madagascar 26, Sierra Leone 25 and other countries 40
- the United States 100 in both years, a figure rounded to protect company data: USGS notes that the data are rounded to the nearest hundred thousand tons to avoid disclosing company proprietary data
By this publication's calculation from the MCS 2026 estimates, Australia and South Africa together produced about 54–56% of the world's zirconium mineral concentrates in 2025, the range depending on whether the rounded world total or the sum of the printed rows is the denominator; that sum includes the rounded US figure.
The trade lines on the same page name the same two leaders. MCS 2026 reports that the leading global exporters of zirconium mineral concentrates were Australia and South Africa, and China was the leading importer.
MCS 2026 carries two descriptions of the 2025 change. Its text says global mine production of zirconium mineral concentrates decreased by 12% to an estimated 1 million tons gross weight in 2025. The table on the same page gives estimated rounded world totals of 1,300 thousand t for 2024 and 1,200 thousand t for 2025. USGS's text and table do not reconcile, and USGS does not explain the difference.
For reserves, MCS 2026 states that for Australia, Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant or equivalent reserves were 21 million tons, ZrO₂ content.
USGS, MCS 2026, on zirconium concentrates: "Significant revisions were made to the 2024 production for Australia and Mozambique"
Rutile, and the ilmenite beside it
MCS 2026 puts world rutile production at an estimated, rounded 450 thousand t of TiO₂ content in 2025, against 460 thousand t in 2024. In its estimates for 2025, Australia produced 200 thousand t, Sierra Leone 110 thousand t, up from 80 thousand t in 2024, and South Africa 100 thousand t, against 102 thousand t in 2024. The smaller MCS 2026 rows for 2025 read India 13, Mozambique 10, Ukraine 10 and other countries 9 thousand t of TiO₂ content.
On this publication's reading of the MCS 2026 estimates for 2025, Australia, Sierra Leone and South Africa account for 410 of the rounded 450 thousand t, about 91%.
Two rows need a note. In MCS 2026, Kenya is shown producing 41 thousand t of rutile in 2024 and zero in 2025. The United States has no rutile figure of its own, because United States rutile production and reserves data are included with ilmenite.
By MCS 2026 production in TiO₂ content, rutile is the smaller of the two titanium minerals. MCS 2026 gives world ilmenite production at a rounded 9,400 thousand t of TiO₂ content in 2025, and ilmenite and rutile together at a rounded 9,800 thousand t, and says that ilmenite accounts for about 90% of the world's consumption of titanium minerals. The leading country changes with the mineral: in 2025, China continued to be the leading producer and consumer of titanium mineral concentrates, accounting for approximately one-third of global production of ilmenite, with Mozambique and South Africa the second- and third-ranked producers of titanium mineral concentrates. In MCS 2026, China has no row in the rutile table. In the MCS 2026 estimates for 2025, the largest ilmenite rows are China 3,200, Mozambique 1,900, South Africa 1,300, Australia 780 and Norway 390 thousand t.
For Australia, MCS 2026 states that Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant or equivalent reserves were estimated to be 45 million tons for ilmenite and 12 million tons for rutile, TiO₂ content.
What changed since the last edition
The 2024 figures moved between editions. MCS 2026 states that significant revisions were made to the 2024 production for Australia and Mozambique based on Government reports. For 2024 zirconium mineral concentrate production, in thousand t of gross weight:
- the superseded MCS 2025 printed Australia 500, Mozambique 160, South Africa 300 and a rounded world total of 1,500
- MCS 2026 prints Australia 400, Mozambique 124, South Africa 290 and a rounded world total of 1,300
MCS 2025 also listed Kenya at 20 thousand t of zirconium mineral concentrates in 2024, and MCS 2026 has no separate Kenya row, so any Kenyan output would fall within "other countries".
The titanium table moved too. For 2024 (MCS 2026 data in thousand t of TiO₂ content):
- the superseded MCS 2025 printed ilmenite for Australia 400 and Ukraine 120, rutile for Sierra Leone 60, and rounded world totals of 8,900 for ilmenite and 450 for rutile
- MCS 2026 prints ilmenite for Australia 600 and Ukraine 286, rutile for Sierra Leone 80, and world totals, in rows labelled rounded, of 9,210 for ilmenite and 460 for rutile
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Sources
- PRIMARYU.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, Zirconium and Hafnium (February 2026, current edition). PDF p. 2, World Mine Production and Reserves: zirconium mineral concentrates, mine production (estimated), thousand metric tons gross weight, 2024 and 2025, by country; world total rounded; reserves in ZrO₂ content; footnotes 9 (US rounding), 10 (Australian JORC reserves) and 11 ('Reported.'); revision note on Australia and Mozambique. PDF p. 2, Events, Trends, and Issues: global mine production change in 2025; leading exporters and importer.
- PRIMARYU.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, Titanium Mineral Concentrates (February 2026, current edition). Page-1 header: data in thousand metric tons of TiO₂ content. PDF p. 1, Events, Trends, and Issues: China the leading producer and consumer of titanium mineral concentrates; Mozambique and South Africa second and third. PDF p. 2, World Mine Production and Reserves: ilmenite and rutile mine production (estimated), 2024 and 2025, by country; world totals rounded; footnotes 2, 9 and 10; World Resources: ilmenite's share of world consumption of titanium minerals.
- PRIMARYU.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025, Zirconium and Hafnium (January 2025; superseded by the 2026 edition). PDF p. 2 (printed p. 205), World Mine Production and Reserves: 2023 and 2024 zirconium mineral concentrate production by country, including Kenya; world total rounded.
- PRIMARYU.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025, Titanium Mineral Concentrates (January 2025; superseded by the 2026 edition). PDF p. 2 (printed p. 189), World Mine Production and Reserves: 2023 and 2024 ilmenite and rutile production by country; world totals rounded.
- ANALYSISANALYSIS: country shares computed by this publication from USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 estimates for 2025. Rutile: Australia, Sierra Leone and South Africa 410 kt of a rounded world total of 450 kt, about 91%. Zirconium mineral concentrates: Australia and South Africa 670 kt, about 56% of the rounded world total of 1,200 kt and about 54% of the 1,243 kt sum of printed country rows.Non-public document · no public URL
