Barite  (Baryte)
Current inventory: 0 gems
 

  
Baryte is named from the Greek word baryos, meaning heavy or weight, due to its unusually high specific gravity for a non-metallic mineral.

Discovered in 1640; IMA status: Valid (pre-IMA; Grandfathered)

Chemistry

Chemical Formula:

Ba(SO₄)

Barium Sulfate

Molecular Weight:

233.39 gm

Composition:

Barium

58.84 %

Ba

65.70 %

BaO

Sulfur

13.74 %

S

34.30 %

SO₃

Oxygen

27.42 %

O

100.00 %

100.00 %

= TOTAL OXIDE

Classification

Mineral Classification:

Sulfates

Strunz 8th Ed. ID:

6/A.09-20

Nickel-Strunz 10th Ed. ID:

7.AD.35

7 : SULFATES (selenates, tellurates, chromates, molybdates, wolframates)
A : Sulfates (selenates, etc.) without additional anions, without H₂O
D : With only large cations

Related to:

Barite Group. Baryte-Celestine Series. The barium analogue of Celestine.

Members of Group:

Barite Group: Anglesite, Barite, Celestine, Hashemite

Varieties:

Angleso-barite, Baryte Rose, Ca- and Sr-rich Baryte, Calcareobarite, Celestobarite (of Dana), Hokutolite, Meißelspat, Oakstone, Radian Barite, Schoharite, Strontian Barite, Strontian Baryte

Synonyms:

Astapia, Astrapia, Baritite, Baryte, Baroite, Baroselenite, Barote, Barytes, Barytine, Barytite, Bologna stone, Bolognian Spar, Bononian stone, Boulanite, Boulonite, Calk, Calstronbarite, Cauk, Cawk, Dreelite, Dréelite, Fetid Heavy Spar, Heavy Spar, Tiff, Volnye, Yellow Spar

Crystal Data

Crystallography:

Orthorhombic - Dipyramidal

Crystal Habit:

Commonly in well-formed crystals, to 85 cm, with over 70 forms noted. Thin to thick tabular; also prismatic, equant. As crested to rosettelike aggregates of tabular individuals, concretionary, fibrous, nodular, stalactitic, may be banded; granular, earthy, massive.

Twinning:

None

Physical Properties

Cleavage:

Perfect on {001}, less Perfect on {210}, Imperfect on {010}

Fracture:

Irregular/Uneven

Tenacity:

Brittle

Moh's Hardness:

3.0 - 3.5

Density:

4.48 - 4.50 (g/cm³) (very heavy for a non-metallic mineral)

Luminescence:

May fluoresce in shades of yellow or white (Franklin & Sterling Hill, NJ), occasionally orange or pink under LW UV and phosphoresce cream or strongly greenish-white to spectral colors under UV. May be thermoluminescent at times.

Radioactivity:

Not Radioactive

Other:

Slightly soluble in water, more so in solutions of salts or acids.
Diamagnetic.

Optical Properties

Color:

Colorless, White, Yellow, Brown, Gray, pale shades of Red, Green, Blue, may be zoned, or change color on exposure to light

Transparency:

Transparent to Translucent to Opaque

Luster:

Vitreous, Pearly

Refractive Index:

1.634 - 1.648  Biaxial ( + )

Birefringence:

0.0110 - 0.0120

Dispersion:

Weak; r > v

Pleochroism:

Weak; Color X Y Z
Brown: Straw-yellow Wine-yellow Violet
Yellow: Lt. yel.-brn. Yellow-brn Brown
Green: Nr colourless Lt. grn. Amethyst
Blue-grn: Blue-violet Bluish grn Violet

Occurances

Geological Setting:

Commonly found as a gangue mineral in metallic ore deposits of epithermal or mesothermal origin; but it may also be found as lenses or replacement deposits in sedimentary rocks, both of hypogene and supergene origin.

Common Associations:

Calcite, Dolomite, Fluorite, Galena, Magnatite, Pyrite, Quartz, Siderite

Common Impurities:

Sr, Ca, Pb

Type Locality:

n/a

Year Discovered:

1640

View mineral photos:

Barite Mineral Photos and Locations

More Information

Mindat.org
Webmineral.com

Barite (also spelled Baryte) is a fairly common mineral but somewhat rare as a gemstone because clean, facet grade crystals are difficult to find. Barite (BaSO4) is the most common barium mineral and is the barium analog of Celestine (Celestite) (SrSO4). Celestine contains strontium (Sr) in place of Barite's barium (Ba). Both have the same structure and can form very similar crystals. Barite is a member of the Barite mineral group that also includes Anglesite and Celestine. Barite crystals are usually found as opaque masses or opaque bladed crystals. Transparent crystal specimens can be found in some locations. One example are the blue crystals found at Stoneham, Weld County, Colorado, USA.

Barite is unusual in that it is a diamagnetic mineral. Diamagnetism is a form of magnetism where certain minerals are repelled by an externally applied magnetic field, and form internal induced magnetic fields in the direction opposite to that of the applied magnetic field. In contrast with this behavior, some minerals, such as Xenotime, are paramagnetic. Paramagnetism is a form of magnetism where certain minerals are attracted by an externally applied magnetic field, and form internal, induced magnetic fields in the direction of the applied magnetic field.

Some notable sources of facetable crystals are Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada (colorless); Rock Candy Mine, British Columbia, Canada (yellow); Cumberland, England; and in the USA from Meade County, South Dakota (brown); the Book Cliffs, near Grand Junction, Colorado (colorless); and Stoneham, Weld County, Colorado (blue). There are many other locations for Barite.
 

  
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