Barite: Characteristics
Why weight is the spec that matters most
What this tab covers The supply and physical characteristics of the commodity. Supply: current production, inventories and stocks, capacity utilisation, geographic and producer concentration, how fast supply responds to price, the project pipeline and capital spending, and logistics and export flows. Material: the physical and chemical properties that set its grade, price and end uses (for example purity and conductivity for metals, API gravity, sulfur and energy content for fuels, moisture, protein and fibre quality for crops).Supply volume characteristics
| Characteristic | Figure | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current production volume | about 8.7 Mt excluding the US (2025e); 9.38 Mt including all countries (2024, WMD) | India 3.0 Mt, China 2.2 Mt, Morocco 1.0 Mt, Kazakhstan 0.7 Mt, Iran 0.3 Mt and Mexico 0.3 Mt in 2025. US output from four Nevada operations is withheld; US grinders sold 2.3 Mt. | USGS MCS 2026, Barite; World Mining Data 2026 |
| Inventory and stock levels | not published; India held 4.9 Mt of low-grade stocks (January 2015, last data) | Grinders keep inventories low because of carrying costs (USGS). There is no exchange stock. India's Indian Bureau of Mines stopped collecting stock data after 2015. | USGS Minerals Yearbook 2022, Barite |
| Capacity utilisation | not published | USGS reports plant counts (22 grinding mills in the US, 13 on the Gulf Coast in 2022) but no capacity. Barite sales rose in 2025 although rig counts fell (1,258 outside the US vs 1,349; US 564 vs 599), because deeper wells use more barite per rig. | USGS MCS 2026; USGS Minerals Yearbook 2022 |
| Geographic and producer concentration | India 34%, China 25%, Morocco 11%; top-3 about 71%; HHI about 2,100 (2025, USGS excluding US) or 1,360 (2024, WMD) | APMDC's Mangampet mine supplies about 90% of India's output. Halliburton (Baroid) and SLB (M-I SWACO) dominate demand as mud companies. | USGS MCS 2026; World Mining Data 2026; IBM via content_v2 |
| Supply elasticity | medium short-run (shallow pits, hand-sorting); low for 4.2 SG grade | Output responds to drilling within a year in China and Morocco. High-grade 4.2 SG deposits are dwindling, which led API to allow 4.1 SG in 2010. Mangampet reserves fell from 49 Mt to under 23 Mt between 2015 and 2024. | USGS MCS 2026; C-DEP 2025 via content_v2 |
| Project pipeline and CapEx | small: Kazakhstan Qaraghandy project announced (2025); no capacity figure | No large new mines are announced. India's C-DEP report (December 2025) urged a strategic reserve. CapEx data were not found. | USGS MCS 2026; C-DEP 2025 via content_v2 |
| Logistics and export flows | exports $668 million (2024): India 22.6%, China 21.5%, Morocco 15.7%; US took 28.1% and Saudi Arabia 16.2% of imports | Crude barite moves on 35,000-60,000 dwt bulk carriers, mainly from India, China and Morocco to US Gulf Coast grinders. Transport is about 30% of final cost, so ocean freight beats US rail and truck. | UN Comtrade 2024; USGS Minerals Yearbook 2022 |
Material characteristics Industrial mineral
Barite (barium sulphate) is valued for being heavy, inert, soft and insoluble. Drillers add it to mud to hold back well pressure, so specific gravity is the key spec. Fine, controlled particle size keeps it suspended. White, high-purity barite serves paints, plastics, brake pads, radiation-shielding concrete and medical contrast media.
| Property | Value / specification | Why it matters | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Specific gravity | API drilling grade 4.20, alternate 4.10 since 2010 | Sets how much mud weight per tonne; sets price tiers | USGS MCS 2026; API Spec 13A |
| Indian tender grades | A grade at least 4.2 SG; B at least 4.1; C, D and W no guarantee (typically above 3.9) | Determines export suitability for drilling | USGS Minerals Yearbook 2022 |
| Particle size | API 13A: at most 3% coarser than 75 µm and at most 30% finer than 6 µm (indicative) | Coarse particles settle; very fine ones raise mud viscosity | API Spec 13A (indicative) |
| Heavy-metal impurities | US offshore discharge limits: mercury 1 mg/kg and cadmium 3 mg/kg in stock barite (indicative) | Decides whether barite can be used where muds are discharged at sea | US EPA 40 CFR 435 (indicative) |
| Hardness and inertness | Mohs about 3-3.5; insoluble, chemically inert (indicative) | Soft enough not to wear pumps; inert in muds, paints and plastics | Mineral references (indicative) |
| Unit value | US ground barite ex-works $210/t (2025) | Price benchmark | USGS MCS 2026 |