What is driving the recent price surge in zirconium carbonate oxide and related zirconium products?

What is driving the recent price surge in zirconium carbonate oxide and related zirconium products?
Zirconium carbonate oxide prices have rallied sharply, with an August 2021 report showing a 9.68% single-day jump to 25,500 yuan/ton, followed by further gains to 26,250 yuan/ton. The core driver is upstream zircon sand tightness: South Africa's RBM suspended operations due to safety issues, while Iluka has repeatedly raised prices. China imports over 80% of its zircon sand, and supply constraints have pushed zircon sand prices up over 90% year-to-date. Downstream demand remains robust from traditional sectors like ceramics and refractories, while new applications such as capacitor-grade zirconia are adding incremental demand. Producers are running at full capacity with tight spot availability, and industry leader Orient Zirconic has raised prices five times this year, signaling sustained upward momentum in the near term.