THE BARITE GROUP OF MINERALS

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The barite group is composed of minerals with a similar orthorhombic structure and related chemistry. It is named for its most common member, barite. The general formula for this group is A(SO4). The A can be either barium, lead or strontium. Some of the sulfur is replaced by chromium in the rarest member of the group, hashemite. This is a small group with only four recognized minerals, but it is an important group because the three most common members are all ores of their respective metal ions. The structures are of these minerals are rather similar and therefore they form similar crystal habits.

The following are the more common members of the Barite Group of minerals:

• Anglesite (Lead Sulfate)
• Barite (Barium Sulfate)
• Celestite or celestine (Strontium Sulfate)
• Hashemite (Barium Chromate Sulfate)