Natural White Baryte from Androvo, Bulgaria 306g

Tabular baryte crystals sit in loose groups across a warm tan matrix, spread out rather than crowded, which lets each blade be seen on its own. They are white to faintly translucent, flat and squared-off, some standing on edge and some laid flat, with several larger crystals grouped toward the right where they overlap into a small fan. Fine pyrite grains and a zone of dark host rock run through the lower left.

Androvo mine baryte is collected for well-formed tabular crystals like these, and the tan carbonate matrix they sit on is characteristic of the locality. Untreated. Baryte is 3 to 3.5 on the Mohs scale, soft enough that the piece belongs on a shelf rather than in a pocket; at 115mm long it presents well from the front.

Natural white baryte, Androvo mine, Bulgaria, single piece.