Baddeleyite

SEM photo of probable baddeleyite grain on feldspar. Letters indicate spots where sample was analyzed. From Stettin area, Marathon County, Wisconsin. (Photo and sample by Tom Buchholz.)

Formula: ZrO2 Monoclinic

Description:

Baddeleyite is a rare zirconium oxide found in a variety of environments, including kimberlite, syenite and gabbro. It may survive weathering as a detrital mineral.

KENOSHA COUNTY: Baddeleyite occurs as coatings on zircon from a subsurface, diamond-bearing lamprophyre diatreme within the outskirts of Kenosha (Carlson, personal communication).

MARATHON COUNTY:  Small crystals of baddeleyite have tentatively been identified as occurring in the syenites of the Stettin Complex, near Wausau.