Barita

Description

Large white barite with very thick and distinct plates, featuring good geometric crystallization in "books." Excellent 360° view with a single point of contact.

History of this specimen

Juan Cabezas bought this piece from Juan Peña back in 1995, right when Peña first started selling the material he and his brother were collecting at Seville's Plaza del Cabildo.

About Barita

Barite with these thick, white geometric forms and a satiny luster is iconic to Barranco de las Nogueras.

About the locality

A historic mining enclave located in Atamaría (Cartagena, Murcia), internationally renowned in mineral collecting for producing some of Spain’s most iconic white, tabular, and lamellar barite specimens from legendary mines like Marisol or Los Palomos. Its colloquial modern name reflects how the ravine was completely swallowed in the 1970s by the La Manga Club luxury resort. Today, fueled by relentless real estate and tourism speculation, aggressive expansion plans for the golf courses threaten to permanently bury the remaining mineral dumps and irreversibly seal off old gallery entrances, sacrificing a world-class geological heritage for whatever commercial development.

Technical data

Catalogue No.

0397

Composition

BaSO₄

Name

Barita

Group

Sulfatos

Category

Meritum Persé

Mine

Campos de Golf (Barranco de las Nogueras)

District / Municipality

Atamaría

Province

Cartagena

Region

Región de Murcia

Country

España

Acquired

1995

Ex-collection

Juan Peña > Juan Cabezas

Etymology

From the Greek barys, meaning "heavy," due to its high density.

Quality

Buena

Value trend

Estable

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