Its most striking feature and the one from which it derives its name barytes, barite (from the Greek Oapis, heavy) or heavy spar, is its weight.
Galena and other lead ores are abundant in veins in the limestone, but they are now only worked on a large scale at Mill Close, near Winster; calamine, zinc blende, barytes, calcite and fluor-spar are common.
Galena and other lead ores are abundant in veins in the limestone, but they are now only worked on a large scale at Mill Close, near Winster; calamine, zinc, blende, barytes, calcite and fluor-spar are common.
Its specific gravity of 4.5 is about twice as great as that of salt and of many other colourless, transparent and glassy minerals not unlike barytes in general appearance.
Crystals of barytes are orthorhombic and isomorphous with the strontium and lead sulphates (celestite and anglesite); they are usually very perfectly developed and present great variety of form.