Barite

It's advisable to handle barite carefully to avoid generating dust and wash hands thoroughly afterward. When cutting or polishing barite, wear a dust mask to prevent inhaling heavy metal particles. Store barite in a sealed container in a well-ventilated area, away from children and pets. For those involved in crystal healing, never put it in your mouth.

Barite has a wide range of applications. By far, the most common industrial use of the mineral ore is in drilling, where it is used as a part of drilling fluids. It has a wide variety of commercial uses, such as medical imaging, plastics, paint, and golf balls.

The radiating form, sometimes referred to as Bologna Stone, attained some notoriety among alchemists for the phosphorescent specimens found in the 17th century near Bologna by Vincenzo Casciarolo. The American Petroleum Institute specification API 13/ISO 13500, which governs baryte for drilling purposes, does not refer to any specific mineral, but rather a material that meets that specification. In practice, however, this is usually the mineral baryte. The term "primary barytes" refers to the first marketable product, which includes crude baryte (run of mine) and the products of simple beneficiation methods, such as washing, jigging, heavy media separation, tabling, flotation. Most crude baryte requires some upgrading to minimum purity or density. Baryte that is used as an aggregate in a "heavy" cement is crushed and screened to a uniform size. Most baryte is ground to a small, uniform size before it is used as a filler or extender, an addition to industrial products, in the production of barium chemicals or a weighting agent in petroleum well drilling mud.

Baryte has been found at locations in Australia, Brazil, Nigeria, Canada, Chile, China, India, Pakistan, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Iran, Ireland (where it was mined on Benbulben), Liberia, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Romania (Baia Sprie), Turkey, South Africa (Barberton Mountain Land), Thailand, United Kingdom (Cornwall, Cumbria, Dartmoor/Devon, Derbyshire, Durham, Perthshire, Argyllshire, and Surrey) and in the US from Cheshire, Connecticut, De Kalb, New York, and Fort Wallace, New Mexico. It is mined in Arkansas, Connecticut, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Nevada, and Missouri.

The name baryte is derived from the Ancient Greek: βαρύς, romanized: barús, 'heavy'. The American spelling is barite. The International Mineralogical Association initially adopted "barite" as the official spelling, but recommended adopting the older "baryte" spelling later. This move was controversial and was notably ignored by American mineralogists.

Barite is a detoxifying stone that helps one to let go of toxic patterns of behavior and other mental and emotional issues that are not serving the person's greatest good. It empowers one to move forward in their life and helps in issues of self-awareness and self-acceptance. When placed near the bed, it is said to help with dream interpretation and allow a person to attain higher consciousness in the spiritual realm.