Blue barite is highly sought after by collectors for its striking sky-blue color and distinctive tabular crystal habit. It is frequently found as distinct, glassy, flattened crystals associated with fluorite and calcite in sedimentary deposits.
Is this blue barite?
5-step field checkRun through these checks against the specimen in your hand. The more boxes tick, the more confident the ID.
- 1Test the hardnessTry to scratch blue barite with a known reference. Blue Barite sits at Mohs 3-3.5, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Blue Barite leaves a white streak.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Blue Barite typically shows a vitreous luster.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: blue, colorless, white, yellow.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: orthorhombic. Typical habit: tabular crystals, prismatic, bladed.
Often confused with
Blue Barite vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside blue barite
Minerals reported to co-occur with blue barite. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- BaSO₄
- Mohs hardness
- 3-3.5
- Density
- 4.5 g/cm³
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Transparent
- Crystal system
- Orthorhombic
- Crystal habit
- Tabular Crystals, Prismatic, Bladed
- Cleavage
- Perfect Basal and Prismatic
- Fluorescence
- Often Fluorescent Under UV
- Rarity
- Common
- Uses
- Collector, Ornamental
- Host rock
- Sedimentary Limestone, Hydrothermal Veins
- Typical price
- $10-50 for small specimens, $100+ for large aesthetic clusters
Where rockhounds find blue barite
1 mapped spotsClassic worldwide localities
- Cave-in-Rock, Illinois
- Book Cliffs, Colorado
- Mibladen, Morocco
- Romania
Field-hunting tip
Look in sedimentary limestone, hydrothermal veins country, the host setting where blue barite typically forms. If you start seeing fluorite, calcite, quartz in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a tabular crystals, prismatic, bladed habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop. In the U.S., the densest reported localities are in Missouri. Start trip planning there.
More blue barite photos
Common questions
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Find blue barite on the map
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