BARITE 



83 



sequences of sedimentary rock of Paleozoic age in 

 Arkansas, Nevada, and California. Some bedded 

 deposits also might occur in the Ouachita Mountains 

 of eastern Oklahoma. The potential for the discov- 

 ery of bedded deposits of value in Alaska is great. 

 The Appalachian region probably has never been 

 explored for bedded deposits. The bedded deposits 

 tend to be large but are easily overlooked. They are 

 worthy targets for exploration in sedimentary rocks 

 throughout the world. 



Undiscovered deposits of considerable size prob- 

 ably occur in the Appalachian region from Penn- 

 sylvania to Alabama in the residuum of Cambrian 

 or Ordovician carbonate rocks. Additional districts 

 the size of the Sweetwater district, Tennessee, and 

 the Cartersville district, Georgia, probably are hid- 

 den in the region. Other new districts containing 

 residual deposits of barite may be found in the mid- 

 continent region in the residual mantles on barite- 

 bearing rocks. 



The speculative resources of barite in vein de- 

 posits are large. Much barite will become available 

 as a coproduct from base-metal, rare-earth, and 

 fluorspar veins. Discovery of at least one other fluor- 

 spar district containing large amounts in the mid- 

 continental United States and similar to the Illinois- 

 Kentucky district seems probable. The discovery of 

 additional rare-earth and barite deposits such as 

 those in the Mountain Pass district, California, also 

 is probable. 



The caprock and environs of the salt domes in the 

 coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico and other re- 

 gions of the world might contain barite deposits. 

 Abundant chloride and sulfate ions in connate 

 waters in this environment enhance the possibilities 

 for concentration of barite there. 



The world's speculative resources of barite are 

 listed in table 14. Speculative resources of the United 

 States are estimated to be about 250 million metric 

 tons (1 short ton equals 0.91 metric ton) as com- 

 pared with 400 million metric tons of barite for all 

 North America. Speculative resources for Europe 

 and North America are proportionally smaller as 

 compared to their identified and hypothetical re- 

 sources than are those for other regions of the 

 world, because more intensive exploration has been 

 done on those two continents and deposits are cor- 

 respondingly less likely to remain undiscovered. 



PROSPECTING TECHNIQUES 



Sophisticated technical methods for prospecting 

 barite deposits have not yet been developed, chiefly 

 because new deposits have been fairly easy to find 

 in known districts. The success of future prospect- 



ing will be increased if prospecting is guided by a 

 knowledge of geologic associations and the role of 

 barite in the sedimentary environment. Deposits 

 should be sought in residuum overlying carbonate- 

 rich rocks, especially those of Cambrian or Ordo- 

 vician age. Other areas of well-weathered rocks that 

 have been hosts for veins or pods of barite also 

 should be examined. The fetid black beds of barite 

 occur abundantly in sequences of dark siliceous 

 rocks of mid-Paleozoic age. The widespread, but 

 probably mistaken, idea that the black bedded de- 

 posits must be of hydrothermal origin has diverted 

 the attention of prospectors from search in sedi- 

 mentary basins that lack intrusive igneous rocks. 

 Geochemical techniques may be helpful in prospect- 

 ing for barite deposits because increased concen- 

 tration of barium has been noticed in rocks enclos- 

 ing barite-rich zones in Arkansas (Brobst and 

 Ward, 1965). Gravimetric surveys have potential 

 use in prospecting (Uhley and Scharon, 1954). 



PROBLEMS FOR RESEARCH 



Research on problems relating to the evaluation 

 of barite resources has one focal point: to get the 

 information necessary to convert hypothetical and 

 speculative resources to identified resources, which 

 is a fundamental reason for doing research on the 

 geology of any mineral commodity. 



Further studies of the geochemistry of barium are 

 needed to understand the processes at work in the 

 mobilization, transportation, and concentration of 

 barium, especially in the sedimentary environment. 

 The role of connate water in the formation of barite 

 deposits requires further examination. Barium is an 

 abundant accessory element in the ash of many coals 

 and in some Alaskan oil shales; this fact suggests 

 that factors leading to the concentration of the 

 organic materials favor the concentration of barium. 

 The function of organic materials and bacterial 

 processes in precipitating barium is a virtually un- 

 explored field and should be investigated. A ques- 

 tion remains about the so-called residual barite de- 

 posits: Does the barite of these deposits become 

 concentrated mechanically or are solution and re- 

 deposition of the barite also involved? The relation 

 of bedded barite deposits to bedded phosphate de- 

 posits needs examination. New information about 

 any of these subjects should help to define new areas 

 and targets worthy of exploration for barite. 



The close association of barium minerals with 

 those of fluorine, rare earths, manganese, lead, zinc, 

 and precious metals in vein deposits should be 

 studied further. The use of barium as a tracer in 

 the search for deposits of other coexisting elements 



