Baryte

A heavy, metallic-looking, black matrix upon which sit a number of spherical Baryte aggregates, composed of easily disceranble individual platy crystals. The clusters are very lustrous and bear a creamy-brown colour. On the edge of the specimen, some of these aggragates are split open, showing the internal layered structure of alternating light and dark bands. This is an old specimen from a location that is no longer accessible. It was once an open-cast Sulphur mine, which is now flooded and used as a recreational lake. Specimens like this are increasingly more difficult to find.