Barite/Baryte
Baryte or barite (BaSO4) is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate.The baryte group consists of baryte, celestine, anglesite and anhydrite. Baryte is generally white or colorless, and is the main source of barium. Baryte and celestine form a solid solution (Ba, Sr)SO4.
Baryte occurs in a large number of depositional environments, and is deposited through a large number of processes including biogenic, hydrothermal, and evaporation, among others. Baryte commonly occurs in lead-zinc veins in limestones, in hot spring deposits, and with hematite ore. It is often associated with the minerals anglesite and celestine. It has also been identified in meteorites.
Baryte has been found at locations in Brazil, Nigeria, Canada, Chile, China, India, Pakistan, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Iran, Ireland (where it was mined on Benbulben), Liberia, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Romania (Baia Sprie), Turkey, South Africa (Barberton Mountain Land), Thailand, UK (Cornwall, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Durham, Perthshire, Argyllshire and Surrey) and in the US from Cheshire, Connecticut, De Kalb, New York and Fort Wallace, New Mexico. It is mined in Arkansas, Connecticut, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Nevada and Missouri.
World baryte production for 2014 was 9.7 million tonnes. The major baryte producers (in thousand tonnes, data for 2014) are as follows: China (4, 100), India (1, 200), Morocco (1, 200), United States (1, 100), Mexico (420), Iran (350), Turkey (340) and Kazakhstan (200).
The main users of baryte in 2014 were (in million tonnes) US (3.39), China (1.45), Gulf States (0.78), the European Union and Norway (0.61), South America (0.37), India (0.35), Canada (0.29) and Africa (0.28).
