Barite (ex Allen Heyl Collection)

Item Description

The Book Cliffs area in western Colorado has produced some outstanding quality, prisms of Barite which represent some of the finest examples of the species from Colorado or many other U. S. localities. This beautiful large thumbnail specimen comprises a very gemmy, very sharp, softe golden peach color orthorhombic prism of Barite, making for a wonderful display piece. Most people don't realize that only a small percentage of the Barites from this locality reach this quality. The crystals form inside of Mancos Shale concretions, which have to be cracked open to expose the Barites inside. Most of these concretions do not host fine quality Barite crystals, and water-clear specimens are not common on the market these days. From the collection of Allen Heyl, a now deceased geologist from Colorado, and the namesake for the Turquiose group mineral, Aheylite.