BaSO₄

Barite is a rare accessory mineral at Mont Saint-Hilaire.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:

Color varies from colorless to pale, lemon or bright yellow.
Luster is vitreous.
Diaphaneity is transparent.
Crystal System is orthorhombic; Pnma.
Crystal Habits include well-formed short prisms to 2mm,
complex tabular to equant crystals to 1cm.
Cleavage {001} is perfect, {210} less so and {010} is imperfect.
Fracture is uneven.
Hardness is 3 – 3.5
Specific Gravity is approximately 4.5 g/cm³.
Streak is white.
Associated Minerals include albite, analcime, andradite, bastnäsite,
biotite, burbankite, calcite, chlorite group, fluorapatite, ilmenite,
microcline, molybdenite, natrolite, pyrite, pyrophanite, pyrrhotite,
quartz, rutile, siderite, sphalerite and zircon.
Distinguishing Features: Crystal habit and color.
Origin: Named in 1640 from the Greek barys, weight, in allusion
to its high specific gravity.

CLASSIFICATION:

REFERENCES:
MinRec 21:298 (1990), Dana 8:572-573 (1997)

DISTRIBUTION AND RARITY AT MONT SAINT-HILAIRE:

MSH          PE          AP          MX          SS           MC          HF           BR          SX          FR
¤¤¤            —             —             —             —             ¤¤            ¤¤             ¤¤           —             —  

Legend