So, the crystal form of barite that we find out on the diamond field is a bit unusual.  Our particular crystals are usually that pretty blue-jean blue that I mentioned before.  However, crystalline barite comes in a wide variety of colors from colorless and white to light shades of blue, yellow, red and green.  In general barite has a number of other unusual characteristics.  The word “barite” comes from the Greek word for “heavy”.  It is one of the few nonmetallic minerals that are naturally almost as heavy as the metallic minerals.  It can also block x-rays and gamma-rays.  Finally, it is not only fluorescent in UV light, but it is phosphorescent as well.  Phosphorescent minerals not only glow in UV light, but they store the UV light for short periods of time so barite is one of the minerals used to make glow-in-the-dark toys, paint, and clock dials.

These unusual characteristics are all exploited in our industrial uses for barite.  Its principal use is in the “mud” used in drilling oil and gas wells. The mud is pumped down the drill stem and then back up to the surface.  Therefore, its first use is to absorb and then carry away the heat that is produced by the drill grinding against the rocks.  However, the thick mud is even more important for the petroleum geologists. They are interested in the different characteristics of the rock layers penetrated by the drill.  As the thick barite mud is pumped back up to the surface, it carries the little pieces of rocks that result from the drill’s grinding.  The petroleum geologists look carefully at those tiny pieces of rock to help them decide if they are drilling through the correct rock. 

The weight of the barite also helps Las Vegas card dealers.  The playing card manufacturers add barite to the paper because it adds weight to the cards so that they can be easily dealt out to the players around a table without flipping over.  Finally, the time when most of us come into contact with barite is when it is used in medical tests to diagnose illnesses of the digestive tract. Because barite is not penetrated by x-rays, most people who have had a digestive x-ray are asked to drink a yummy barite liquid that has the same and feel as a milkshake, but a much worse taste.  When the liquid coats the inside walls of the esophagus or the stomach, the x-ray will show the shape variations of those body organs.  Those variations may be the result of disease and therefore lead the doctors to a diagnosis. 

So, why do we find crystalline barite out on our diamond field?  The lamproite lava that erupted and formed our volcanic crater contains 30-times more of the element barium than most of the more common types of lava.  The heated water that usually accompanies any volcanic eruption is hot enough to actually dissolve the barium atoms out of the lava.  Then, as those barium-saturated waters cool, barite crystals begin to form in and fill any openings, like cracks, in the volcanic lava and ash.  When visitors bring the barite crystals up to our rock identification desk, the clerks are looking first for that pretty blue color.  They also see if they can scratch the blue mineral using something metal.  Even though barite is heavy like a metal, it is also soft, and can be easily scratched. 

We don’t have enough barite for the diamond mine to be commercially mined for that material.  China produces the most barite, followed by India and then the United States.  So, the next time you visit the diamond mine, keep your eye out for the barite crystals and take some home with you as another interesting and unusual diamond mine souvenir.

Search area last plowed:  Weekly; Most recent significant rainstorms: 3” total January 8 & 9, 2014

Total diamonds found in 2014: 1

Diamonds registered for January 5-January 11, 2014 (100 points = 1 carat): 

January 5-11 - No diamonds were registered