Bulgarian Baryte
Baryte, also spelled barite, is barium sulfate (BaSO4) and the main source of the element barium. Its name comes from the Greek word barys, meaning heavy, and it lives up to it: with a density of about 4.5, a baryte cluster weighs noticeably more than a quartz or calcite specimen of the same size. Most baryte mined today is ground into powder and added to drilling fluids for oil and gas wells. Because barium sulfate does not dissolve in the body, it is also the barium in the drinks patients take before some X-ray examinations, and it is used as a white pigment in paints and coatings.
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Mineral guide
Bulgarian Baryte
Bulgarian baryte
The baryte in this collection comes from Bulgaria, and several pieces come from the Androvo mine, as named in their listings. Bulgarian baryte forms white to colourless tabular crystals that grow in sharp blades, fans and stacks, with grey or brown matrix showing between the crystals in places.
Did you know?
Around 1603 Vincenzo Casciarolo, a shoemaker and alchemist from Bologna, roasted baryte from nearby Monte Paderno and found that it glowed in the dark after being left in sunlight. The "Bologna Stone" puzzled scholars for centuries, until a 2012 study linked the long glow to traces of copper.
How to recognise baryte
Baryte is soft at Mohs 3 to 3.5, so a knife scratches it. Its crystals are flat and tabular, from white and colourless to pale yellow, blue or brown. It has perfect cleavage, so thin edges chip easily, and the weight in the hand is the quickest clue that a white mineral is baryte rather than calcite or quartz.
Caring for baryte
Hold baryte by its base rather than by the crystal edges, dust it with a soft dry brush, and avoid sudden temperature changes.
The title of each listing names every mineral in the piece. Each listing shows the weight and photos of the actual specimen.