Mineralogy and Crystallography

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barite

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

barite , barytes [New Lat., from barium], or heavy spar, a white, yellow, blue, red, or colorless mineral. It is a sulfate of barium, BaSO ₄ , found in nature as tabular crystals or in granular or massive form and has a high specific gravity. The mineral is widely distributed throughout the world. It often occurs in veins with lead and zinc minerals. It is insoluble in water, and this property is made use of in testing for the sulfate radical. It is practically insoluble under ordinary conditions in all the usual chemical reagents. Barite is used as a commercial source of barium and many of its compounds. Ground barite is used as a filler in the manufacture of linoleum, oilcloth, paper and textile manufacturing, rubber, and plastics. Finely ground barite is used to make a thixotropic mud for sealing oil wells during drilling. Prime white, a bleached barite, is used as a pigment in white paint but is not as satisfactory as blanc fixe, a chemically precipitated barium sulfate, or lithopone, a mixture of barium sulfate, zinc sulfide, and zinc oxide.

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barite

A Dictionary of Earth Sciences | 1999 | | Copyright

barite (baryte) A mineral, BaSO₄, which may form a solid solution series with celestite (SrSO₄); sp. gr. 4.3–4.6; hardness 3.0–3.5; orthorhombic; colourless to white, often tinged yellow, brown, blue, green, and red; white streak; vitreous lustre; crystals commonly tabular, prismatic, but can be fibrous, lamellar, and often granular; cleavage perfect {001}, present {210}, {010}. Occurs as a vein filling, as a gangue mineral with ores of lead, copper, zinc, silver, iron, and nickel, associated with calcite, quartz, fluorite, dolomite, and siderite, and as a low-temperature mineral which also occurs as a replacement for limestone, and as a cement in sandstone. Insoluble in acid. It is used as a weighting agent in drilling muds, in the chemical industry, in the manufacture of rubber, paper, and high-quality paints, and as an X-ray absorbent.

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AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "barite." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "barite." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-barite.html

AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "barite." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-barite.html

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barite

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

barite Translucent, white or yellow mineral, barium sulphate (BaSO₄), found in sedimentary rocks and in ore veins in limestone. Radiating clusters of crystals are called ‘barite roses’. It occurs as a gangue mineral with ores of lead, copper and zinc, and as a replacement for limestone. It is used as a weighting agent in oil-rig drilling, and in the chemical industry for paper-making, rubber manufacture, high-quality paints and X-rays. Hardness: 3–3.5; r.d. 4.5.

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barite

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

bar·ite / ˈbe(ə)rīt; ˈbar-/ • n. a mineral consisting of barium sulfate, typically occurring as colorless prismatic crystals or thin white flakes.

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Barite (BaS[O.sub.4]) biomineralization at Flybye Springs, a cold sulphur... Magazine article from: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences; 6/1/2007
	Features and applications of barite resources. (Market Report). Magazine article from: China Chemical Reporter; 7/16/2002
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