Zircon

Zircon-This glassy mineral has found its place in many an industrial application worldwide. Starting from ceramics and refractory tiles to a range of high-tech applications. Zircon compounds have a very low toxicity and are not perceived as a potential environmental hazard. They are even said to have some medicinal properties and are now increasingly preferred in the manufacture of food products and pharmaceuticals too.

Zircon's exceptional qualities of hardness and durability makes it a must-use for the manufacture of ceramics and refractory tiles and also for a range of other high-tech applications such as armour plating on military aircraft, heat shield in space shuttles and potentially as solid oxide fuel cells in hydrogen powered vehicles in many industrialand chemical applications.

The Industrial zircon ceramics are extensively used as linings to protect furnaces and kilns for smelting of metals because they can retain their physical and chemical composition even when subjected to high temperatures. Zircon application is mainly confined to mould faces and cores, which directly come in contact with molten metal. Zircon sand helps in minimising the penetration of mould by the molten metal and thus ensures that the casting gets a good surface finish.

It ispredominantly used as a glaze material and as an opacifier to provide shine and brightness for crockery, sanitary ware, Ceramic tiles, other decorative ceramic products and is also widely used in television and computer screens. Resistance to corrosion and erosion makes zircon products ideal for use in the chemical industry and in desalination plants.