Abstract:
As the global largest consumer of zirconium resources, China’s reliance on external sources has long remained above 90% due to domestic reserves and production capacity constraints. With the accelerated development of the nuclear industry and the new generation of information technology, domestic demand for zirconium resources is expected to continue to grow. Therefore, it is urgent to ensure the security of the international supply chain and enhance domestic supply capabilities. Based on the international supply chain security evaluation system, an analysis of thirteen indicators across two dimensions—resource supply security and trade circulation security—from 2013 to 2023 reveals that the overall risk in the international zirconium resources supply chain has trended toward alleviation, but it remains at risk of fluctuation. These risks can be categorized into four phases: the high-risk period (2013–2016), the first risk fluctuation period (2016–2018), the risk decline period (2018–2021), and the second risk fluctuation period (2021–2023). Additionally, an analysis of domestic zirconium resources security from the perspectives of resources endowment, beneficiation and smelting, and recycling shows promising prospects for zirconium exploration, breakthroughs in beneficiation technology for alkaline rock-type zirconium ores, and the establishment of a recycling system for nuclear-grade zirconium materials. Based on the results of the international supply chain security evaluation and analysis of the current situation of domestic resource security, China is still facing challenges such as an expanding supply-demand gap in the zirconium resources, insufficient diversification of supply, the need for further improvement in beneficiation technologies, and an incomplete secondary resource recycling system. To solve these problems, China should focus on increasing investment in exploration of Cenozoic sedimentary zirconium ores in coastal areas and along the margins of the Tarim Basin, building a diverse international supply chain, optimizing funding for beneficiation processes, strengthening efforts to recycle secondary resources, increasing the production capacity of nuclear-grade zirconium materials, and setting up a national strategic reserve system for zirconium resources to comprehensively protect supply capabilities and resilience.