Description
The mineral barite (also called barium sulfate, heavy spar, blanc fixe, or permanent white) is a barium sulfate with the chemical formula BaSO4. It has a hardness of 3 to 3.5. Barite is insoluble in water and has high resistance to other chemicals. It has a density of 4.48 kg/dm3, a white streak color, and the mineral's cleavage is perfect according to [210] and imperfect according to [010]. The birefringence of barite is 0.0110–0.0120. There are stones of impure barium sulfate that glow in the dark, known as Bologna stones. Barite is usually found in hydrothermal veins where it forms at low to medium temperatures. It is also found in passages and cavities in limestone and in newly formed, moist, and slightly saline soils. In Belgium, barite is found in Blieberg, Angleur, Villers-en-Fagne, and Fleurus.
