Structural Characterization of Natural and Processed Zircons with X-Rays and Nuclear Techniques

Table 1

Chemical composition (provided by Endeka Ceramics) for natural zircon sands. U and Th content and granulometry determined in natural and micronized zircon sands.

	USA	USA4	AUS	AUS4	SUD	SUD4
ZrO2 + HfO2 (%)	66.3		62.2		66.5
SiO2	32.7		33.3		32.7
TiO2	0.09		0.15		0.11
Al2O3	0.58		0.33		0.18
Fe2O3	0.058		0.04		0.06
Cr2O3	—		—		<0.01
CaO	—		—		0.01
U (ppm)	17010	1449	36022	31119	31019	33620
Th (ppm)	674	644	21913	17511	1439	1569
Total activity (Bq/kg)	130101041	11390911	278402227	239501916	236001880	265202122
(μm)	125	4.1	108	4.6	84	4.0