Barite - Specimen

Locality: Haut-Katanga or Lualaba copper belt region. Congo

Barite is barium sulfate, BaSO₄. Its name comes from the Greek for weight, because it is unusually heavy for a non-metallic mineral, with a density of about 4.5. It is soft, at 3 to 3.5 on the Mohs scale, and has a vitreous to resinous, sometimes pearly lustre.

The Central African Copperbelt, which runs across the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia, is the world's largest sedimentary copper district and holds the world's largest cobalt reserves. Its ores lie in Neoproterozoic sedimentary rocks of the Katangan Supergroup, roughly 880 to 600 million years old, which were laid down in a series of rift basins.

Barite commonly forms well-shaped crystals, with more than 70 crystal forms recorded, usually as thin to thick tablets or prisms, and sometimes as crested or rosette-like clusters. It can be colourless, white, yellow, brown, grey or pale red, green or blue, and is often colour-zoned. It typically grows in low-temperature hydrothermal veins.

This one of a kind Barite mineral specimen from the Congo features a broad, low-profile formation covered in dense honey-brown Barite crystals. The specimen displays layered bladed plates, sharp tabular edges, and rosette-like crystal groupings that create a highly textured surface across the entire piece. Pale translucent to whitish crystal growths appear between the golden Barite blades, adding contrast against the warm tan coloration and giving the specimen a naturally sculptural, flower-like appearance.

Barite is a barium sulfate mineral known for its unusually heavy weight compared to its size. It forms in hydrothermal veins, sedimentary environments, and mineral-rich cavities, often alongside minerals such as quartz, calcite, fluorite, galena, or sulfides. Congolese Barite specimens are admired for their golden, amber, cream, and smoky tones, especially when they form as layered blades, cockscomb clusters, and rosette-like aggregates on matrix.

In metaphysical traditions, Barite is often associated with grounding, clarity, focus, and energetic alignment. Golden Barite is sometimes connected with confidence, purpose, and steady personal growth, while its layered crystal habit is viewed as a symbol of structure, patience, and spiritual organization.

Chemical Composition: BaSO4

Quantity: 1pc
With this product, you will get the actual stone in the photograph.