Barite

 Barite

(Baryte)

Formula and Classification:

• BaSO4 (barium sulfate)

Unique Characteristics of Barite:

• High specific gravity of 4.50 g/cm3
• Chemically inert
• Water insoluble
• Found in a variety of colors:
• Yellow
• Brown
• White
• Blue
• Gray
• Colorless

For general information about barite click this link.

For more information about the characteristics of barite click this link.

Occurrence and Abundance:

• Very common and naturally occurring
• Found in deposits with both metallic and nonmetallic minerals
• Normally found in vein, residual, and bedded deposits
• Vein and residual deposits are hydrothermal in origin
• Bedded deposits are sedimentary
• Often forms in concretions and veins in limestone and dolostone
• Also found as concretions in sand and sandstone
• Crystals of barite can grow into shapes called barite roses

•  Primary countries with commercial deposits are the United States, China, India, and Morocco
• Major deposits in the US are found in Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, and Tennessee
• Other Major deposits are found in:

• Canada
• Yukon Territory, Nova Scotia,  and Newfoundland
• Mexico
• Hermosillo, Pueblo, Monterrey, and Durango

For more information on the industrial uses of barite click this link.

Uses of Barite:

• Mostly used in oil drilling industry as a drilling mud
• Barite is crushed and added to mud to create barium mud
• Mud is pumped down the drill stem
• Keeps drilling equipment cool and lubricated and keeps pressure level
• Most of us encounter barite in radiology for x-rays of the digestive system
• Barite is X-ray absorbent
• Makes characteristics of the gastrointestinal tract visible
• Used to make high density concrete 
• Blocks X-ray emissions in hospitals, power plants, and laboratories
• Main ore of the element barium
• Filler in paper and rubber
• Crushed and used to create white paint

 

For more information on the uses of barite click this link.

Obtaining Barite:  

• Most mining industries use the open-pit method to mine barite 
• Depending on the barite deposit, eliminating waste material can be difficult
• In a residual deposit most of the material is waste

• As current mining equipment cannot separate the clay waste from barite, ore-bearing waste is mined and then sent  to a processing plant.

• A bedded deposit with thinly bedded shale, chert, or argillite is also treated in this manner.

• Deposits of barite that is both pure and large enough can be mined and meet quality specifications without further processing.

To learn more about obtaining barite click on this link

  Barite Processing:

• There are several processes for separating barite from waste material
• Hand selection
• Screens--removes some clay and fine-grained material
• Washing--removes large amounts of waste material
• Jigs--pulsates water to separate materials by weight (barite should sink to the bottom)
• Tables and spirals--specific gravity and material movement separates waste from barite
• Flotation--chemical is used to make waste product or barite float to top
•  Depending on size, the ore-bearing waste must sometimes be crushed into smaller pieces first

To learn more about barite processing click this link.

 

Environmental and Health Considerations:

• Minerals associated with barite mining and processing are the main concern, not the barite itself
• Barite is a chemically inert and nontoxic mineral

• Quartz, present in many barite deposits, can create silica dust (a lung carcinogen)
• Dust masks may be required during mining and processing to prevent inhalation
• Water may be used to reduce the amount of silica dust in the air
• Unoxidized minerals may be present with barite deposits
• Acid mine drainage can result
• Contaminate water sources
• Cause mineral leachage

For information on the safe handling of barite click on this link

Life Cycle of Barite

• Naturally occurring mineral that undergoes the natural process of weathering
• Is used in such a way to make it very difficult to recycle, but in some cases it is still possible
• A centrifuge can be used to separate barite from drilling mud

To learn more about Barite recycling click on this link.