Inside The Largest Zircon Mine in the World

Beneath the South Australian outback lies one of the world’s richest hidden resources — the Jacinth–Ambrosia zircon mine. Valued at over A$15 billion, this world-class mineral sands deposit produces a quarter of global zircon supply. Formed on Eocene beaches 40 million years ago, these ancient dunes conceal a geological and economic marvel. Learn how billion-year-old zircons from the Musgrave Province ended up buried in the Eucla Basin, how Iluka Resources turned that discovery into a global powerhouse, and why this remote desert is now home to the planet’s most valuable zircon deposit.