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Washington County Barite Mining District, Washington County, Missouri, USAi
| Regional Level Types | |
|---|---|
| Washington County Barite Mining District | Mining District |
| Washington County | County |
| Missouri | State |
| USA | Country |
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Latitude & Longitude (WGS84):
38° North , 90° West (est.)
Estimate based on other nearby localities or region boundaries.
Margin of Error:
~8km
Type:
Köppen climate type:
This baryte mining district lies about 50 miles SW of St. Louis and also includes parts of St. Francois, Jefferson, and Franklin Counties.
The baryte deposits are residual deposits and the baryte occurs chiefly in residual clay derived from the underlying Potosi and Eminence dolomites of Late Cambrian age. The red residual clay is plastic and free of grit and ranges in thickness from 1 to 50 feet, with an average of 10 to 15 feet.
Most of the baryte is opaque and pure white on fresh surfaces, although the outside generally is covered by a thin film of limonite that is removable by washing. Some lumps composed of tabular crystals are friable; the sharp edges can be crumbled and broken off by hand. Hard transparent or translucent crystals of barite are rare. The barite fragments range from particles of claty size to masses weighing several hundred pounds. Most fragments are between ½ inch (1.25 cm) and 6 inches (15 cm) across. Many of the larger lumps have cavities lined with limonite scale. The other species and varieties listed occur with the barite in these deposits.
Many of the deposits are as large as 100 acres, and as thick as 4 to 30 feet. The best deposits occur on the slopes of hills. The barite may be uniformly distributed through the clay or as is generally the case, concentrated in layers. Some deposits contain as much as 20 to 25% baryte.
The baryte deposits are residual deposits and the baryte occurs chiefly in residual clay derived from the underlying Potosi and Eminence dolomites of Late Cambrian age. The red residual clay is plastic and free of grit and ranges in thickness from 1 to 50 feet, with an average of 10 to 15 feet.
Most of the baryte is opaque and pure white on fresh surfaces, although the outside generally is covered by a thin film of limonite that is removable by washing. Some lumps composed of tabular crystals are friable; the sharp edges can be crumbled and broken off by hand. Hard transparent or translucent crystals of barite are rare. The barite fragments range from particles of claty size to masses weighing several hundred pounds. Most fragments are between ½ inch (1.25 cm) and 6 inches (15 cm) across. Many of the larger lumps have cavities lined with limonite scale. The other species and varieties listed occur with the barite in these deposits.
Many of the deposits are as large as 100 acres, and as thick as 4 to 30 feet. The best deposits occur on the slopes of hills. The barite may be uniformly distributed through the clay or as is generally the case, concentrated in layers. Some deposits contain as much as 20 to 25% baryte.
Select Mineral List Type
Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical ElementsCommodity List
This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded from this region.Mineral List
Mineral list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities11 valid minerals.
Rock Types Recorded
Rock list contains entries from the region specified including sub-localities
Select Rock List Type
Alphabetical List Tree DiagramDetailed Mineral List:
List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification
| Group 2 - Sulphides and Sulfosalts | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ⓘ | Sphalerite | 2.CB.05a | ZnS |
| ⓘ | Chalcopyrite | 2.CB.10a | CuFeS2 |
| ⓘ | Galena | 2.CD.10 | PbS |
| ⓘ | Pyrite | 2.EB.05a | FeS2 |
| ⓘ | Marcasite | 2.EB.10a | FeS2 |
| Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides | |||
| ⓘ | Quartz var. Agate | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| ⓘ | var. Chalcedony | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 |
| ⓘ | 4.DA.05 | SiO2 | |
| ⓘ | Goethite | 4.FD.10 | Fe3+O(OH) |
| Group 5 - Nitrates and Carbonates | |||
| ⓘ | Calcite | 5.AB.05 | CaCO3 |
| ⓘ | Smithsonite | 5.AB.05 | ZnCO3 |
| ⓘ | Dolomite | 5.AB.10 | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| Group 7 - Sulphates, Chromates, Molybdates and Tungstates | |||
| ⓘ | Baryte | 7.AD.35 | BaSO4 |
| Unclassified | |||
| ⓘ | 'Limonite' | - | |
List of minerals for each chemical element
| H | Hydrogen | |
|---|---|---|
| H | ⓘ Goethite | Fe3+O(OH) |
| C | Carbon | |
| C | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| C | ⓘ Dolomite | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| C | ⓘ Smithsonite | ZnCO3 |
| O | Oxygen | |
| O | ⓘ Quartz var. Agate | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Baryte | BaSO4 |
| O | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| O | ⓘ Quartz var. Chalcedony | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Dolomite | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| O | ⓘ Goethite | Fe3+O(OH) |
| O | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| O | ⓘ Smithsonite | ZnCO3 |
| Mg | Magnesium | |
| Mg | ⓘ Dolomite | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| Si | Silicon | |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz var. Agate | SiO2 |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz var. Chalcedony | SiO2 |
| Si | ⓘ Quartz | SiO2 |
| S | Sulfur | |
| S | ⓘ Baryte | BaSO4 |
| S | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| S | ⓘ Galena | PbS |
| S | ⓘ Marcasite | FeS2 |
| S | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| S | ⓘ Sphalerite | ZnS |
| Ca | Calcium | |
| Ca | ⓘ Calcite | CaCO3 |
| Ca | ⓘ Dolomite | CaMg(CO3)2 |
| Fe | Iron | |
| Fe | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| Fe | ⓘ Goethite | Fe3+O(OH) |
| Fe | ⓘ Marcasite | FeS2 |
| Fe | ⓘ Pyrite | FeS2 |
| Cu | Copper | |
| Cu | ⓘ Chalcopyrite | CuFeS2 |
| Zn | Zinc | |
| Zn | ⓘ Smithsonite | ZnCO3 |
| Zn | ⓘ Sphalerite | ZnS |
| Ba | Barium | |
| Ba | ⓘ Baryte | BaSO4 |
| Pb | Lead | |
| Pb | ⓘ Galena | PbS |
Localities in this Region
- Missouri
- Washington County
- Washington County Barite Mining District
- Washington County
Other Regions, Features and Areas that Intersect
North AmericaContinent
North America PlateTectonic Plate
- Granite-Rhyolite ProvinceMagmatic Province
- Shawnee DomainDomain
This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to
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References
Brobst, D. A. (1958) Barite resources of the United States. Bulletin 1072b. US Geological Survey doi:10.3133/b1072b pp.99-102
County Road 361 (State Highway 47) road cut, Washington County Barite Mining District, Washington County, Missouri, USA