Heavy Spar - Barite

Barium carbonate, present in nature as terra ponderosa or witherite, was discovered in England and was described by William Withering, a colleague of Joseph Priestley. Scheele was the first to make clear the difference between barium and calcium (1774) and his achievement is quite on a par with Black s regarding magnesium oxide in 1755. In the latter case both Black and Davy are mentioned as the discoverers of the element, in the barium case Davy alone. Another inconsequence in the history of the elements. 

Heavy spar had, in fact, been known for a long time and had been the subject of several experiments and speculations. J. G. WaUerius, who preceded Torbern Bergman as professor of chemistry in Uppsala, had thought that the substance was 

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Schwer-spat, m. heavy spar, barite, -stein, m. scheelite. 

In 1783 he published an annotated translation of Torbem Bergman s Sciagraphia regni mineralis, and in the following year he communicated to the Philosophical Transactions his Experiments and observations on terra ponderosa (barium carbonate, or witherite) (96). He stated that the specimen he examined came from a lead mine at Alston Moor, on the Pennines of Cumberland. Although he at first mistook it for heavy spar (barite) he soon found it to be a compound of heavy earth (barium oxide) and fixed air (carbon dioxide) (97). 

Synonyms Artificial barite Artificial heavy spar Barite Barium sulfate (1 1) Baryta white Barytes Blanc fixe Blanc fixe (artificial, precipitated) Cl 77120 Enamel white Heavy spar Permanent white Pigment white 21 Precipitated barium sulfate Process white Sulfuric acid barium salt (1 1)... 

Barite [13462-86-7], natural barium sulfate, BaSO, commonly known as barytes, and sometimes as heavy spar, tiU, or cawk, occurs in many geological environments in sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks. Commercial deposits are of three types vein and cavity filling deposits residual deposits and bedded deposits. Most commercial sources are replacement deposits in limestone, dolomitic sandstone, and shales, or residual deposits caused by differential weathering that result in lumps of barite enclosed in clay. Barite is widely distributed and has minable deposits in many countries. 

Barium was discovered in 1808 by Sir Humphrey Davy. Its abundance in the earth s crust is about 0.0425% (425 mg/kg). The element also is found in sea water at trace concentration, 13 J,g/L. It occurs in the minerals barite or heavy spar (as sulfate) and witherite (as carbonate). 

Synonyms barite baryte heavy spar blanc fixe... 

Barium sulfate is widely distributed in nature and occurs as the mineral barite (also known as barytes or heavy spar). It often is associated with other metallic ores, such as fluorspar. Barites containing over 94% BaS04 can be processed economically. 

BARITE. The mineral barite is barium sulfate, BaSOa crystallizing in the orthorhombic system. It may occur as tabular crystals, in groups, or lamellar, fibrous and massive, Barite has two perfect cleavages, basal and prismatic hardness, 3-3.5 specific gravity, 4.5, which has led to the term heavy spar, occasionally used for this mineral. Its luster is vitreous streak, white color, white to gray, yellowish, blue, red and brown transparent to opaque, it sometimes yields a fetid odor when broken or when pieces are rubbed togedier, due probably to the inclusion of carbonaceous matter. It is used as a source of barium compounds. 

Barium occurs chiefly as sulfate (barite, barytes, heavy spar, H.iSO(i. and. of less importance, carbonate (witherite. RaCf)3). Georgia and Tennessee are the principal producing states. The sulfate is transformed into chloride, and the electrolysis of the fused chloride yields barium metal. See also Barite and Witherite. Barium ores are mined chiefly as a source of barium compounds because very little metallic barium is consumed commercially. The metal is obtained by thermal reduction of the oxide, using aluminum metal at a high temperature and under vacuum in a closed retort 4BaO + 2A1 > BaOAI Ot+ 3Ba. The gaseous barium produced is recovered by condensation. 

Synonyms Barium monoxide barium protoxideb k Artificial heavy spar artificial barite barytes blanc fixe precipitated barium sulfate sulfuric acid, barium saltl,q No data... 

SYNS ACTYBARYTE ARTIFICIAL BARITE ARTinCIAL HEAVY SPAR BAKONTAL BARIDOL BARITE BARITOP BAROSPERSE BAROTRAST BARYTA VCTIITE BARYTES BAYRITES BLANC FIXE C.1.77120 C.I. PIGMENT WHITE 21 CITOBARYUM COLONATRAST ENAMEL WHITE ESOPHOTRAST EWEISS E-Z-PAQUE FINEMEAL LACTOBARYT LIQUIBARINE MACROPAQUE NEOBAR ORATRAST PERMANENT WHITE PRECIPITATED BARIUM SULPHATE RAYBAR REDI-FLOW SOLBAR SULFURIC ACID, BARIUM SALT (1 1) SUPRAMIKE TRAVAD UNIBARYT... 

For more than 100 years, researchers labored without being able to identify the elements in the stone. In 1774, Scheele announced the presence of a new element in the Bologna stone. Today, scientists know that the stone was a form of barite. Five years later, Scheele demonstrated that barite was also present in heavy spar. This dense transparent mineral closely resembles ordinary spar, a compound of calcium. 

The most important barium mineral is heavy spar (BaS04, barite), whose deposits are distributed over the whole world. Worldwide extraction in over 30 countries was 4.4 10 t/a in 1995, of which 1.5 (O t/a was produced in China, 0.58 10 t/a in India and 0.54 lO t in the USA. In the Federal Republic of Germany the production of marketable raw heavy spar and the quantity of processed heavy spar were together 0.15 I O t/a in 1995. The worldwide production peaked in 1981 at 8.3 10 t/a, which is about double the 1995 production of 4.4 10 t/a. This decline was mainly due to less exploration and drilling. The worldwide reserves of heavy spar have been estimated to be ca. 1.8- 10 t, of which 0.17 10 t are certain. 

Ba barium, 56, 1808 named for the mineral barite, or heavy spar, in which it occurs from the Greek "barys ... 

J. G. Gahn between 1774 and 1779 heavy spar was found to be BaS04 and called barite or barytes (Greek apvg, heavy), whence Scheele s new base baryta (BaO) from which Davy isolated barium in 1808. 

Inso in w. CA Registry No [7727-43-7]. Occurs in nature as the mineral barite, also as barytes and heavy spar. Prepn Is by adding sulfuric acid to the aq extract of BaS... 

Barite A sulfate mineral with the formula BaS04 also known as barytes, heavy spar. 

Artificial barite Artificial heavy spar. See Barium sulfate... 

Artichoke leaves. See Artichoke (Cyanara scolymus) leaves Artie Mist . See Talc Artificial almond oil. See Benzaldehyde Artificial ant oil. See Furfural Artificial barite. See Barium sulfate Artificial cinnabar. See Mercury sulfide (ic), red Artificial cinnamon oil. See Cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia) oil Artificial gum. See Dextrin Artificial heavy spar. See Barium sulfate Artificial musk ambrette. See Musk ambrette... 

Barium Ba 56 137.3 1808 Sir Humphry Davy (GB) barite, a heavy spar, derived from Gr. barys, heavy... 

Barium sulfates (barites, blanc fixe, heavy spar, permanent white, and terra ponder-osa) BaS04. n. A white powder obtained from the mineral barite or synthesized... 

The barium content in the lithosphere is ca. 500 mg/kg (i.e., ppm wt.), but, owing to its chemical reactivity, the metal does not occur free in nature. The chief barium-containing minerals are the sulfate barite or heavy spar [BaSO orthorhombic] and the carbonate with-erite [BaCO, orthorhombic). 

Barium sulfate, barite, heavy spar, is a very important industrial mineral. More than 5 millions tonnes are mined each year, mostly in China. Other important sources are the Massif Central in France together with Turkey, North Africa, India, Mexico and the USA. Barium carbonate, witherite, is nowadays economically unimportant... 

M6 Chalcopyrite CuFeS2. Yellow tetragonal crystals of chalcopyrite between smaller, white crystals of quartz, overgrown with barite (heavy spar, barium sulfate BaSOJ. From the mine Baia Mare in Romania. 

Barium Sulfates n (barites, blanc fixe, heavy spar, permanent white, terra ponderosa) BaS04. A white powder obtained from the mineral barite or synthesized chemically. One of the synthetic varieties, hlanc fixe, is made by mixing aqueous solutions containing sulfate and barium ions. As a filler in plastics and rubbers, barium sulfate imparts opacity to X rays but only a low order of optical opacity. Thus it is useful as a filler when it is desired to increase specific gravity without adversely affecting the tinctorial power of pigments. (Ash M, Ash I (1998) Handbook of fillers, extenders and dilutents. Synapse Informtion Resources, Inc., New York). 

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