Baddeleyite

specimen number:
2133438

location:
Wetloo Mine, Mogok, Myanmar

description:
Loose lustrous black terminated crystal. In good condition. Very nice for the species.

The Wetloo Mine, situated in the legendary Mogok Stone Tract of Myanmar, is part of a complex metamorphic and igneous terrain with a long history of artisanal gem and mineral extraction. Geologically, the region is characterized by Precambrian to early Paleozoic marbles and metamorphic schists that have been heavily intruded by younger granitic and alkaline magmas, creating favorable conditions for skarn formation. Interaction between these intrusive fluids and the carbonate rocks produced diverse mineral assemblages. While globally famous for rare borate gems like painite and high-quality rubies, the mine and surrounding area have also yielded extremely rare, well-formed dark brown to black crystals of baddeleyite, a zirconium oxide that typically occurs only in microscopic grains elsewhere.

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