Barite

Large barite crystals from Nevada.

Crystals of barite (pink) mixed with cerussite (clear) from Morocco.

The unit cell in barite crystals.

Barite (cream and brown bands) with galena (silvery) and hematite from Poland.

Barite (British spelling Baryte) is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate (BaSO₄). It is generally white or colorless, and is the main source of barium. The mineral is also called heavy spar.

Occurrence

Barite commonly occurs in lead-zinc veins in limestones, in hot spring deposits, and with hematite ore. It is often associated with the minerals anglesite and celestine.

Etymology and History

The name barite is derived from the Greek word βαρύς, meaning "heavy." The radiating form, sometimes referred to as Bologna Stone, attained some notoriety among alchemists for the phosphorescent specimens found in the 1600s near Bologna, Italy by Vincenzo Cascariolo.

Characteristics

Barite has a Mohs hardness of 3. Its refractive index is 1.63, its specific gravity is in the range of 4.3-5. Its crystal structure is orthorhombic.

Uses

In commerce, the mineral is sometimes referred to as "barytes." The term "primary barite" refers to the first marketable product, which includes crude barite (run of mine) and the products of simple beneficiation methods, such as washing, jigging, heavy media separation, tabling, flotation, and magnetic separation. Most crude barite requires some upgrading to minimum purity or density. Barite that is used as an aggregate in a "heavy" cement is crushed and screened to a uniform size. Most barite is ground to a small, uniform size before it is used as a filler or extender, an addition to industrial products, or a weighting agent in petroleum well drilling mud.

Barite is used in the manufacture of paints and paper.

Precautions

Although barite contains barium, which is a "heavy" metal, it is not considered a toxic chemical by most governments because of its extreme insolubility.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Farndon, John. 2006. The Practical Encyclopedia of Rocks & Minerals: How to Find, Identify, Collect and Maintain the World's best Specimens, with over 1000 Photographs and Artworks. London: Lorenz Books. ISBN 0754815412.

• Klein, Cornelis, and Barbara Dutrow. 2007. Manual of Mineral Science. 23rd ed. New York: John Wiley. ISBN 978-0471721574.

• Pellant, Chris. 2002. Rocks and Minerals. Smithsonian Handbooks. New York: Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 0789491060.

• Shaffer, Paul R., Herbert S. Zim, and Raymond Perlman. 2001. Rocks, Gems and Minerals. Rev. ed. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 1582381321.

• Mineral Gallery. 2006. The Mineral Barite. Amethyst Galleries. Retrieved April 13, 2007.

External links

• Barite: Statistics and Information. U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved April 13, 2007.
• Baryte. Mindat.org. Retrieved April 13, 2007.
• Barite Mineral Data. Webmineral.com. Retrieved April 13, 2007.
• The Discovery of Luminescence: "The Bolognian Stone." University of Bologna. Retrieved April 13, 2007.

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