Barite
General Information
Barite is a common mineral that makes very attractive specimens. It is often an accessory mineral to other minerals. It 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; 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. However, this destroys the stone and is therefore not always desirable.
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Chemistry: BaSO4, Barium Sulfate
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Class: Sulfates
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Group: Barite
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Color: Colorless or White; can be Blue, Green, Yellow, or Red
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Streak: White |
Luster: Vitreous
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Transparency: Transparent to translucent
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Crystal System: Orthorhombic
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Hardness: 3-3.5
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Cleavage: Perfect in one direction, Good in another
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Fracture: Conchoidial
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Specific Gravity: 4.5
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Crystal Habits: Bladed crystals are dominated by large pinacoid faces top and bottom; small prism faces form a jutting angle on every side. There are many variations of these faces, but the flattened blades and tabular crystals are most common. If the pinacoid faces become diminished or absent, then the resulting prismatic crystal has a rhombic cross section. Can be scaly, lamellar, or fiberous.
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Uses: Barium ore
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Associated Minerals: chalcopyrite, calcite, aragonite, sulfur, pyrite, quartz, vanadinite, cerussite and fluorite |
Other Characteristics: Green color in flame test
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Notable Occurrences: Oklahoma, Connecticut, and Colorado, USA; England
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Best Field Indicators: Crystal habit, flame test and density
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