The Barite Industry and Resources of Texas

MC0085. The Barite Industry and Resources of Texas, by J. R. Kyle. 85 p., 51 figs., 10 tables, 7 appendices, 1994.


About this Publication
Barite, a useful industrial mineral, is a weighting agent in well-drilling fluids and a source of barium in chemicals used in industry. Although most barite deposits known in Texas are too small and too low in grade to compete with other sources, they do have an economic advantage in being near processing and consuming areas. In addition, the relative purity of Texas barite deposits suggests that they provide chemical- and glass-grade barites, which are more valuable than drilling-mud-grade barite. Barite deposits, reported in at least 27 counties, lie in sedimentary terranes ranging in age from Precambrian to Recent, on the Gulf Coast, in the Llano Uplift area, and in the Trans-Pecos magmatic province. In this circular, the author summarizes the economic status of the worldwide and national barite industry, the barite processing industry in Texas, the geology of commercial deposits, and the locations and potential resources of Texas barite.


Keywords: barite, industrial minerals, mineral resources, Texas


Citation
Kyle, J. R., 1994, The Barite Industry and Resources of Texas: The University of Texas at Austin, Bureau of Economic Geology, Mineral Resource Circular No. 85, 85 p.