Barite

• Most barite produced is used as a weighting agent in drilling muds.
• Barite is also used as a pigment in paints and as a weighted filler for paper,
• Barite is used as a weighting filler in rubber to make “anti-sail” mudflaps for trucks.
• Barite is used to make a wide variety of barium compounds.
• Some of these are used for x-ray shielding.
• Barite is used to make high-density concrete to block x-ray emissions in hospitals, power plants, and laboratories.
• Barite compounds are also used in diagnostic medical tests.
• The oil and gas industry is the primary user of barite worldwide.

There it is used as a weighting agent in drilling mud. This is a growth industry, as global demand for oil and natural gas has been on a long-term increase. In addition, the long-term drilling trend is more feet of drilling per barrel of oil produced.