Barite
{BaSO4}: Fl. cream-white SW
Calcite {CaCO3}:
Fl. red-orange SW
Shown above is a small Sterling Hill specimen of barite in calcite, maximum
dimension around 2 inches. Sterling Hill barite is not quite as rare
as Franklin barite and therefore is a little easier to afford when it comes
up on the market. It's still far from common, however.
The non-fluorescent areas in this rock are mostly clinopyroxene; it's
probably a manganoan and/or zincian variety of diopside, aegirine, or augite.
There is also some franklinite.
Barite, when it fluoresces, generally glows a white or cream color in short-wave.
There is, however, such a thing as "long-wave barite". There is also
some barite from Franklin and Sterling Hill that doesn't fluoresce at all
(such as the bladed barite in the hodgkinsonite assemblage).
Barite from some other localities, such as the southwestern USA, also may
fluoresce. Unfortunately, it doesn't occur in fluorescent calcite or
have other fluorescent minerals with it in specimens I've seen thus far.
The specimen above is now in someone else's collection. I miss this
little barite sometimes. At least I still have a decent photograph
of it. Recently, however,
I did actually find some spots of fluorescent barite in calcite on the Buckwheat
Dump in Franklin. It was an accidental find; I was going for
the purple fluorite in the rock and didn't see the barite until checking
it later with short-wave.
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