Barite

Object/Artifact

-

Crater Rock Museum

Barite

Barite

Name/Title

Barite

Entry/Object ID

78.62.239

Description

Assemblage Zone: pegmatitic dikes Chemical Composition: BaSO4 Crystal System: Orthorhombic System Description: Common Name: Barite Chemistry: BaSO4, Barium Sulfate Class: Sulfates Group: Barite Uses: ore of barium Location: Found in Jackson Co., Howard Prairie,OR. Description: This specimen has a gray rock base with green and gray minerals with ochre colored Barite crystals and some protruding, sharp,clear crystals,also Barite. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF BARITE Color is variable but is commonly found colorless or white, also blue, green, yellow and red shades. Luster is vitreous. Transparency crystals are transparent to translucent. Crystal System is orthorhombic; 2/m 2/m 2/m Crystal Habits include the bladed crystals that are dominated by two large pinacoid faces top and bottom and small prism faces forming a jutting angle on every side. There are many variations of these faces but the flattened blades and tabular crystals are the most common. If the pinacoid faces become diminished or are absent, the resulting prismatic crystal has a rhombic cross section. Also scaly, lamellar, and even fiberous. Cleavage is perfect in one direction, less so in another direction. Fracture is conchoidal. Hardness is 3 - 3.5 Specific Gravity is approximately 4.5 (heavy for translucent minerals) Streak is white. Associated Minerals are numerous but significant associations have been with chalcopyrite, calcite, aragonite, sulfur, pyrite, quartz, vanadinite, cerussite and fluorite among many others. Other Characteristics: green color in flame test (see above). Best Field Indicators are crystal habit, flame test and density. Fracture: Conchoidal Hardness: 6 Orthoclase Luster: Vitreous Occurrence: Barite is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate. It most often occurs in hydrothermal veins and as veins in limestones. It is a relatively inert mineral with a high density. It is the primary ore of barium. The most common use of barite is as a weighting agent in drilling muds. Rock Color: Light Rock Type: Igneous Specific Gravity: 4.5 Streak: White Texture: Crystalline Variety: Barite is a common mineral and makes very attractive specimens. It often is an accessory mineral to other minerals and 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, but 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. .

Collection

Delmar Smith Mineral Collection

Acquisition

Accession

78.62

Source or Donor

Delmar Smith Mineral Collection

Acquisition Method

Donation

Dimensions

Width

6-1/2 in

Depth

4-1/2 in

Length

7 in

Dimension Notes

Dimension taken at widest points

Location

Location

Shelf

CS-G-5

Room

Curation Storage

Building

Crater Rock Museum

Category

Storage

Moved By

Jillian Mather Kettley

Date

February 13, 2024