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Barite, a mineral used in drilling muds by the oil and gas industry, is found worldwide and has secondary uses in medicine and manufacturing. It is heavy and can be used as a radiation shield and in medical imaging. Mining companies analyze deposits for impurities and other minerals.
Barite is a mineral found in natural deposits all over the world. Also known as barite, it is of interest primarily to the oil and gas industry, which uses it in the production of drilling muds. Secondary uses of barite can be seen in medicine, industrial manufacturing, and a variety of other applications. Mining companies can supply raw or processed barite to customers, along with other minerals they can find in close proximity.
A number of formative processes, including evaporation and geothermal deposition, can contribute to the formation of this mineral, which is often found in association with materials such as sandstone and hematite. In nature, it consists of loose crystalline formations that often split easily. Crystals can be white, gray, brown, and red to pink, depending on nearby mineral compounds. Pure barite has the mineral formula BaSO4, otherwise known as barium sulfate.
An interesting property of barite is its extreme weight. The mineral is much heavier than others of comparable size. In drilling fluids, it makes a useful weighting agent, although oil and gas companies must also compensate for the added weight of barite in drilling calculations. The weight also makes it easy to identify, as it will be heavier than it looks, which can help distinguish it from crystalline formations of similar surface appearance.
Some companies use this mineral as a filler material in concrete and other products. It can be useful for radiation shielding, where layers of concrete and other materials create a wall to seal off an area from radioactive substances. In medicine, processed barite in the form of barium is used for certain types of medical imaging studies. Patients ingest the mineral, which is opaque to x-rays, allowing doctors and healthcare professionals to study the throat and digestive tract. It is insoluble in water and is eliminated from the body without accumulating in tissues such as the liver and kidneys.
Mining companies analyze barite deposits to estimate the amount of ore available and to check for impurities and associated deposits that may also be of financial use. In the process of drilling and mining, they can discover a range of products that can be separated by processing for use in various applications. Machining typically includes grinding to separate the components and reduce them to similar sized fragments for ease of handling. Fragmented ores can undergo further processes to purify them and prepare them for various uses.
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