Detailed information
Species
Baddeleyite
Dimensions
18 x 12 x 12
mm
Weight
2 g
Locality
Palabora Mine Loolekop, Phalaborwa Limpopo Province, South Africa
Condition
No recorded repairs
Baddeleyite, the monoclinic form of zirconium oxide, is a rare mineral worldwide, but not super rare. However, what is rare are crystals. Palabora mine at Phalaborwa in South Africa has, by a long distance, produced the world's finest crystals of Baddeleyite in terms of size and shape. At 1.5 cm in length and attached to a small piece of matrix, this thumbhail Baddeleyite is world-class. The crystal is black and glossy, and extremely well-formed showing well all round - most crystals are tightly embedded within matrix. Other much smaller crystals can be seen in the matrix on the back of the specimen. It is from the superb systematic collection assembled by brothers Martin and Michael Günther (1951-2007 & 1956-2021).