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| Baddeleyite
is named for Joseph Baddeley, who first called attention to the Sri Lankan material.
| Discovered
in 1892;
IMA
status: Valid (pre-IMA; Grandfathered) |
|
Composition: |
Zirconium |
74.03 % |
Zr |
100.00 % |
ZrO2 |
|
Oxygen |
25.97 % |
O |
|
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|
|
100.00 % |
|
100.00 % |
= TOTAL OXIDE |
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Classification
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Mineral
Classification: |
Oxides
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Strunz 8th
Ed. ID:
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4/D.31-10
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Nickel-Strunz 10th
Ed. ID:
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4.DE.35
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4 : OXIDES (Hydroxides, V[5,6] vanadates, arsenites, antimonites, bismuthites, sulfites, selenites, tellurites, iodates)
D : Metal: Oxygen = 1:2 and similar E : With medium-sized cations; with various polyhedra
|
Related
to: |
n/a
|
Varieties: |
Caldasite
|
Synonyms: |
Baddeleyite
(of Fletcher), Brazilite (of Hussak), Reitingerite
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Crystal
Data
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Crystallography:
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Monoclinic
- Prismatic
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Crystal
Habit:
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Crystals commonly tabular and somewhat elongated, or short to
long prismatic, to 6 cm; rarely equant; prism faces striated; also botryoidal masses with radially fibrous structure and
concentric banding. |
Twinning:
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None
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Physical
Properties
|
|
|
Cleavage: |
Distinct
on {001}
|
Fracture: |
Conchoidal
|
Tenacity:
|
Brittle
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Moh's
Hardness: |
6.5
|
Density:
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5.40 - 6.02 (g/cm3)
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Luminescence:
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Blue-green
Cathodoluminescence
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Radioactivity:
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Not
Radioactive
|
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Optical
Properties
|
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Color: |
Colorless
to Yellow, Green, Greenish or Reddish Brown, Brown,
iron-Black; Colorless to Brown in transmitted light.
|
Transparency: |
Transparent;
in dark-colored specimens, only in thin fragments. |
Luster: |
Adamantine,
Greasy to Vitreous; nearly Submetallic in black crystals
|
Refractive
Index: |
2.13 - 2.20 Biaxial
( - ) |
Birefringence: |
0.0700
|
Dispersion: |
Strong;
r > v
|
Pleochroism: |
X
= yellow, reddish brown, oil-green; Y = oil-green, reddish
brown; Z = brown, light brown.
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Occurances
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Geological
Setting: |
An accessory mineral in carbonatites and kimberlites; in syenites, diabases,
gabbros, anorthosites; detrital in gem gravels; also in lunar basalt, tektites
and meteorites.
|
Common
Associations: |
Ilmenite,
Zirkelite, Apatite, Magnetite, Perovskite (Jacupiranga
mine, Brazil); Fluorite, Nepheline, Pyrochlore,
Allanite (Monte Somma, Italy).
|
Common
Impurities: |
Ca,
Fe, Hf, Si, Ti
|
Type
Locality: |
Kollonnagam, Rakwana, Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri
Lanka |
Year
Discovered: |
1892
|
View
mineral photos: |
Baddeleyite
Mineral Photos and Locations |
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More
Information
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|
Mindat.org
Webmineral.com
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|
Baddeleyite
is a very rare Ziconium Oxide mineral and is rarely
seen as a faceted gem. It is a very dense mineral and
has a very high refractive index, although it is usually
opaque brownish black to black.
Although the chemistry of
Baddeleyite is identical to the popular
diamond simulant cubic zirconia (CZ), it doesn't look anything like it.
CZ is a bright, transparent, highly refractive material which crystallizes in the
cubic system while Baddeleyite is opaque or nearly opaque, usually black and
crystallizes in the monoclinic system.
The
main sources of Baddeleyite are Rakwana and Balangoda,
Sri Lanka. From Monte Somma, Campania, Italy. In Russia,
large crystals from the Kovdor massif, and in the Gulinskii
massif, the Vuoriyarvi carbonatite complex, and the
Imandrovsky layered intrusion, Kola Peninsula; in the
Lukkulaisvaara layered intrusion, Karelia. At the Jacupiranga
mine, São Paulo, and at Poços de Caldas, Minas Gerais,
Brazil. From Bozeman, Gallatin County, Montana, USA.
In the Bingo deposit, Kivu Province, Congo (Zaire).
From Catanda, Angola. At Benfontein, and in large crystals
from Phalaborwa, Transvaal, South Africa. Other minor
occurrences are known.
|
Baddeleyite
gems for sale:
|
Gem:
|
Baddeleyite |
Stock
#:
|
BADD-001 |
Weight:
|
0.7105
ct |
Size: |
4.91
x 4.86 x 3.34 mm |
Shape: |
Trillion |
Color: |
Black |
Clarity: |
Opaque |
Origin: |
Mogok,
Myanmar (Burma) |
Treatment: |
None
(natural) |
Price: |
$85.00
[
Make an offer ] |
Pictures
are of the actual gem offered for
sale. Gem images are magnified to
show detail. |
|
|
An
extremely rare gem from
Mogok, Sagaing District, Mandalay Division,
Myanmar (Burma). This gem is very nice
with adamantine
luster and jet black color with no surface
fractures common to the mineral.
|
|
Gem:
|
Baddeleyite |
Stock
#:
|
BADD-002 |
Weight:
|
0.9665
ct |
Size: |
4.85
x 4.76 x 2.4 mm |
Shape: |
Princess |
Color: |
Very
Dark Brown, Black |
Clarity: |
Opaque |
Origin: |
Mogok,
Myanmar (Burma) |
Treatment: |
None
(natural) |
Price: |
$49.00
[
Make an offer ] |
Pictures
are of the actual gem offered for
sale. Gem images are magnified to
show detail. |
|
|
An
extremely rare gem from
Mogok, Sagaing District, Mandalay Division,
Myanmar (Burma).
|
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|