Barite (mineral)
Barite is a mineral composed of barium sulfate (BaSO₄) and is known for its high specific gravity of 4.5, making it significantly denser than water. It typically appears as white, gray, or black tabular crystals and has a Mohs hardness of 2.5 to 3.5. Barite is primarily found in vein fillings associated with metal sulfides, as well as in residual and bedded deposits. Major sources of barite include regions in Mexico, Algeria, Morocco, and various locations in the United States, including Arkansas, Georgia, Missouri, and Tennessee.
The mineral is predominantly utilized in the petroleum and natural gas industries, where it is added to drilling fluids to increase their density and prevent blowouts during drilling. Beyond this primary use, barite also finds applications in the manufacturing of glass, rubber, and plastics, serving as a filler to enhance product properties. Furthermore, barite is valuable in medical imaging as it helps render the intestinal tract opaque for X-ray visibility. With over two thousand industrial uses, this mineral plays a significant role in various sectors, highlighting its versatility and importance in modern applications.
Barite (mineral)
Where Found
Rich vein deposits of barite are in Mexico, Algeria, and Morocco. Residual deposits left by the weathering away of barite-bearing limestones and dolomites exist in Georgia, Missouri, and Tennessee. There are major bedded deposits in Arkansas and Nevada; important bedded deposits also exist in Germany, France, Ireland, and other European countries.
Primary Uses
Most of the barite produced is used in petroleum and natural gas exploration to increase the density of drilling fluid. It also has uses in the manufacture of glass, rubber, and some plastics.
Technical Definition
Barite, the most common barium mineral, is barium sulfate, BaSO4. It occurs as white, gray, or black tabular crystals with three good cleavages and a Mohs scale hardness of 2.5 to 3.5. Its most notable property is its high specific gravity of 4.5 (its density is 4.5 times that of water).
Description, Distribution, and Forms
Barite occurs as vein fillings, commonly accompanied by metal sulfides; as residual deposits; and as bedded deposits. Rich vein deposits in Mexico, Algeria, and Morocco have been important sources of barite. Barite is highly insoluble, relative to limestone and dolomite, and the weathering away of barite-bearing limestones and dolomites has left significant and easily mined residual deposits in Georgia, Missouri, and Tennessee. Bedded deposits of barite are fairly common worldwide.
History
A bedded deposit in Arkansas was the leading source of barite from 1942 to 1982. In the late 1970’s, enormous reserves of bedded barite were discovered in Nevada. Important bedded deposits also occur in Germany, France, Ireland, and other European countries.
Obtaining Barite
Vein deposits of barite are thought to be of low-temperature hydrothermal origin and associated with igneous intrusion. Residual deposits probably are closely related to vein deposits in that barite is initially deposited in fractures in limestone and dolomite (carbonate rocks) by hydrothermal processes or deposited on the seafloor, where carbonates are accumulating as volcanic exhalations react with sulfate-rich seawater. Later uplift, followed by weathering and solution of the carbonate rocks, leaves rich deposits of barite in the carbonate rock residuum.
The origin of bedded deposits is less obvious, but research has indicated that they may occur where oxygen-depleted, and therefore sulfate-poor, barium-bearing seawater has mixed with and reacted with normal, sulfate-rich seawater, a process that may occur where deep ocean waters are forced to the surface, by strong deep water currents impinging on continental margins, to mix with shallow waters.
Uses of Barite
Most of the barite produced is used in the petroleum and natural gas exploration industry. It is used to increase the density of drilling fluid to counteract the high pressures encountered in petroleum reservoir rocks, thus preventing disastrous blowouts. There are many other important uses for barite, however. It is used in glass manufacture to homogenize the melt and impart brilliance to the final product. Barite is also an important additive in many rubber and plastic products. Raw rubber and some plastics tend to be soft and gummy. Fillers, fine granular materials with appropriate physical properties, add firmness, wear resistance, mechanical toughness, and weight to the final products. In all, there are more than two thousand uses for barite and barite-based chemicals in industrial processes and products.
Barium is an effective gamma-ray absorber, and a mixture of barium sulfate and water has been used to render the human intestinal tract opaque to X rays and thus visible on radiographs. Barite compounds, largely derived from barite, are also used to produce a brilliant green color in fireworks.
Bibliography
Natural Resources Canada.
U.S. Geological Survey.