Guide
Witherite specimens for sale
69 for sale · $30–$17,500 USD
128 in the gallery
Witherite is a barium carbonate mineral that forms glassy to vitreous crystals and masses. It typically occurs as colorless or white habits, sometimes with a slight tint, and can display a prismatic to tabular crystal form with a silky to subadamantine luster. Notable specimens come from classic localities in the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, and other well-known sourcing regions, where well-formed crystals have been recovered from limestone and related carbonate rocks. Collectors value witherite for its clean crystal faces, the sharp geometry of its prisms, and its association with other carbonate minerals.
- Formula
- BaCO3
- Rarity
- Common
- Stability
- Stable
- Collector interest
- Moderate Interest
- Classification notes
- Carbonate mineral; Strunz 5.AA
Key characteristics
- Crystal system
- orthorhombic
- Mohs hardness
- 3–3.5
- Specific gravity
- 4.29–4.35
- Luster
- vitreous, resinous
- Transparency
- transparent, translucent
- Color
- colorless, white, gray, yellow, brown, green
- Streak
- white
- Cleavage
- distinct
- Fracture
- uneven, subconchoidal
- Crystal habit
- prismatic, pyramidal, tabular, fibrous, botryoidal, granular, massive
- Gem mineral
- Classic / historic
Buy Witherite specimens
View all 69Where Witherite is found
Top localities
- Settlingstones Mine10 specimens
- Minerva No. 1 Mine8 specimens
- Fallowfield Mine6 specimens
- Nentsberry Haggs Mine4 specimens
- Alston Moor3 specimens
- Brownley Hill Mine3 specimens
- Frizington Mine3 specimens
- Meikle Mine3 specimens
- Rosiclare Mining Sub-District3 specimens
- Jinkouhe District3 specimens
Guides
All guides
Guide
Witherite from Settlingstones Mine, England
Witherite, Settlingstones Mine, England: dense, lustrous white-to-cream crystals with twinned pseudo-hexagonal habit; historic, collectible English specimens.Read guide
Guide
Witherite from Nentsberry Haggs Mine, Alston Moor, England
Witherite from Nentsberry Haggs Mine, England: distinctive pseudohexagonal crystals, radiating aggregates, and paragenesis with baryte, alstonite, and galena.Read guide
Guide
Witherite from Fallowfield Mine, Hexham, England
Fallowfield Mine, Hexham, England, a locality for witherite, known for doubly terminated, cyclic-twinned crystals on pale drusy matrix, often with alstonite.Read guideAbout Witherite
The appeal lies in its clarity and the way light interacts with the faces, producing subtle reflections that highlight the crystal edges. Fine aggregates and groupings offer attractive display options, while isolated, well-formed crystals can provide striking specimens for cabinet displays. Witherite often forms in hydrothermal veins and in sedimentary environments where barium-rich fluids precipitate carbonate minerals, contributing to its distinctive habit and luster.
