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Baddeleyite
	; Baddeleyite in corundum gneiss
General
Category	Oxide mineral
Chemical formula	ZrO2
Strunz classification	04.DE.35
Dana classification	04.04.14.01
Identification
Color	Colorless to yellow, green, greenish or reddish brown, brown, iron-black
Crystal habit	Tabular prismatic, radially fibrous in botryoidal masses
Crystal system	Monoclinic - prismatic
Twinning	Ubiquitous polysynthetic on {100} and {110}
Cleavage	{001} Distinct
Fracture	Irregular uneven to subconchoidal
Tenacity	Brittle
Mohs scale hardness	6.5
Luster	Greasy to vitreous
Streak	White
Diaphaneity	Transparent to translucent
Specific gravity	5.5 - 6
Optical properties	Biaxial (-)
Refractive index	nα = 2.130 nβ = 2.190 nγ = 2.200
Birefringence	δ = 0.070
Pleochroism	X = yellow, reddish brown, oil-green; Y = oil-green, reddish brown; Z = brown, light brown
Other characteristics	Blue-green cathodoluminescence
References

Baddeleyite is a rare zirconium oxide mineral (Zr O₂ or zirconia), occurring in a variety of monoclinic prismatic crystal forms. It is transparent to translucent, has high indices of refraction (nα = 2.130, nβ = 2.190, and nγ = 2.200), and ranges from colorless to yellow, green, and dark brown. The mineral has a specific gravity of 5.5 to 6 and a Mohs hardness of 6.5. Baddeleyite is a refractory mineral, with a melting point of 2 700 °C. Hafnium is a substituting impurity and may be present in quantities ranging from 0.1 to several percents.

Baddeleyite was first described in 1892 from Sri Lanka, and Minas Gerais and Jacupiranga, São Paulo, Brazil. It was named after Joseph Baddeley, who described the occurrences in Sri Lanka.^[1]

Baddeleyete is often found as detrital grains in gravels. Its primary occurrence is in high temperature veins and in syenite, carbonatite, kimberlite, and lamproite intrusions. Because of their refractory nature and stability under diverse conditions, baddeleyete grains, along with zircon, are used for uranium-lead radiometric age determinations.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b http://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/doclib/hom/baddeleyite.pdf Handbook of Mineralogy
^ http://www.webmineral.com/data/Baddeleyite.shtml Webmineral data
^ http://www.mindat.org/min-480.html Mindat

This article about a specific oxide mineral is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[Handbook-0] ttp://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/doclib/hom/baddeleyite.pdf Handbook of Mineralogy

[1] ttp://www.webmineral.com/data/Baddeleyite.shtml Webmineral data

[2] ttp://www.mindat.org/min-480.html Mindat

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