Industrial Minerals

Barite is the name given to a naturally occurring form of barium sulfate, commonly found in Canada, Mexico, and the states of Arkansas, Georgia, Missouri, and Nevada. One of the most important uses of barite is in the production of heavy muds that are used in drilling oil and gas wells. It is also used in the manufacture of a number of other commercially important industrial products such as paper coatings, battery plates, paints, linoleum and oilcloth, plastics, lithographic inks, and as a filler in some kinds of textiles. Barium compounds are also widely used in medicine to provide the opacity that is needed in taking certain kinds of x rays.