Barite, Calcite

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The Mineralogical Museum, University of Delaware

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Barite on calcite from a septarian nodule, 17.1 cm, from Elk Creek, Meade County, South Dakota. Golden barite has been known from the Black Hills of South Dakota since at least 1891. Beautiful, gemmy and lustrous rich yellow to brownish orange crystals and clusters occur in the open spaces inside large septarian concretions found in an arcuate “barite zone” around the Black Hills. Only about 10 percent of the big concretions prove to contain barite crystals when broken open. Crystal clusters as large as the one shown here are extremely rare.