Barite (BaSO4) is a pure crystal, colorless and transparent, usually white, gray, pale yellow or light brown. Barite is mainly used in oil and gas drilling. Hardness 3-3.5, specific gravity 4.3-4.5, than the major, non-metallic minerals are quite special, but also as a raw material for barium extraction. After grinding into fine powder, it can be used as a weighting agent for drilling mud in oil wells. It can also be used in chemical experiments or medicine. It can be used as a white coating or as a filler. It can be used in rubber and paper making to increase its weight and smoothness.Barium (Ba) in the crystalline structure of barite (BaSO4) can be replaced by strontium (Sr), lead (Pb) or aluminum (Al). When the lead (Pb) content and more can be called Hokutolite, lead (PbO) of 17-22%, which also contains trace amounts of radium (Ra), so the radiation.
Identification features: crystal plate, low hardness, perfect cleavage, nearly perpendicular to the density, no bubbles in hydrochloric acid, and what distinguishes it from similar calcite.Barite is mainly formed in the low temperature hydrothermal conditions, Hunan, Guangxi, Qinghai, Xinjiang and other places have great China barite veins. Barite is barium extraction of raw materials into a fine powder can be used for drilling mud with the increasing agent, can do a variety of white paint, paint and rubber industry, papermaking filler chemicals and so on.
The chemical composition of Ba[SO4], the crystal is orthogonal (orthorhombic) sulfate mineral crystal. Often a thick plate or columnar crystal, for dense block or plate, granular aggregates. The pure colorless transparent, impurities are dyed various colors, white streak, vitreous luster, transparent to translucent. Three groups of complete cleavage that angle is equal to or close to 90 degrees. The Mohs hardness of 3-3.5, the proportion of 4.3-4.6.
