Specimens

Barite is a common mineral and makes very attractive specimens. It often is an accessory mineral to other minerals and can make a nice backdrop to brightly colored crystals. At times bladed or tabular crystals of Barite form a concentric pattern of increasingly larger crystals outward. This has the appearance of a flower and when colored red by iron stains, these formations are called “Desert Roses”. Because Barite is so common, it can be confused for other minerals. Celestite (SrSO4) has the same structure as barite and forms very similar crystals. The two are indistinguishable by ordinary methods, but a flame test can distinguish them. By scrapping the dust of the crystals into a gas flame the color of the flame will confirm the identity of the crystal. If the flame is a pale green it is barite, but if the flame is red it is celestite. The flame test works because the elements barium (Ba) and strontium (Sr) react in the flame and produce those colors.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:

• Color is variable but is commonly found colorless or white, also blue, green, yellow and red shades.
• Luster is vitreous.
• Transparency crystals are transparent to translucent.
• Crystal System is orthorhombic; 2/m 2/m 2/m
• Crystal Habits include the bladed crystals that are dominated by two large pinacoid faces top and bottom and small prism faces forming a jutting angle on every side. There are many variations of these faces but the flattened blades and tabular crystals are the most common. If the pinacoid faces become diminished or are absent, the resulting prismatic crystal has a rhombic cross section. Also scaly, lamellar, and even fiberous.
• Cleavage is perfect in one direction, less so in another direction.
• Fracture is conchoidal.
• Hardness is 3 – 3.5
• Specific Gravity is approximately 4.5 (heavy for translucent minerals)
• Streak is white.
• Other Characteristics: green color in flame test (see above).
• Best Field Indicators are crystal habit, flame test and density.

Baryte, or barite, (BaSO₄) is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate.[1] The baryte group consists of baryte, celestine, anglesite and anhydrite. Baryte itself is generally white or colorless, and is the main source of barium. Baryte and celestine form a solid solution (Ba,Sr)SO₄

The radiating form, sometimes referred to as Bologna Stone, attained some notoriety among alchemists for the phosphorescent specimens found in the 1600s near Bologna by Vincenzo Cascariolo.

The name baryte is derived from the Greek word βαρύς (heavy). The American spelling barite is used by United States Geological Survey and more often used in modern Scientific journals including those published by the Netherlands-based Elsevier journals. The International Mineralogical Association adopted “barite” as the official spelling when it formed in 1959, but recommended adopting the older “baryte” spelling in 1978, notably ignored by the Mineralogical Society of America. The American Petroleum Institute specification which governs baryte for drilling purposes does not refer to any specific mineral, but rather a material that meets that specification, in practice this is usually the mineral baryte.

The term “primary baryte” refers to the first marketable product, which includes crude baryte (run of mine) and the products of simple beneficiation methods, such as washing, jigging, heavy media separation, tabling, flotation, and magnetic separation. Most crude baryte requires some upgrading to minimum purity or density. Baryte that is used as an aggregate in a “heavy” cement is crushed and screened to a uniform size. Most baryte 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.