Barite – Meikle Mine, Elko County, Nevada, USA
Barite from the Meikle mine, Nevada is one of our Top 100 Minerals.
Barite is named after the Greek word barys, meaning "heavy" in allusion to its high specific gravity. The mineral was formerly known as a "heavy spar" which is a direct translation from the German schwerspat. Its density makes barite useful as a component of drilling mud in oil exploration and in medicine to improve x-ray work.
Barite is a barium sulfate that is a gangue mineral in some sulfide ore veins, but it most commonly occurs in sedimentary rocks.
Some of the most beautiful barite specimens to come on the market in recent times have come from the Meikle mine, an epithermal gold deposit in Nevada. These golden-yellow to deep amber barite crystals are found in high temperature, sulfurous pockets and exhibit one of two predominant habits: either as simple, gemmy tabular crystals or as more transclucent thick blades with "serrated" looking terminations, commonly on druzy calcite matrix. The extreme conditions in the pockets make it very dangerous to collect these superb crystals.
