Minerals from Namibia

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These photos of Barite and Boltwoodite are to enjoy the wonderful mineral crystal gems from Namibia.  This is not a blog with facts about minerals and crystals,  you can find excellent information in Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Like any hobby the collection of minerals can be divided into different topics,  My topic is  whatever is pretty to me. 

 

barite.jpg (54938 bytes) Barite (Bariumsulfate) also spelled Baryte and  known as Heavy Spar, contains the heavy mineral barium. It is ground up and used in ao. paint, but although it is a heavy mineral it is not considered poisonous due to it being extremely  insoluble.

 

barite.phosphorescent.jpg (64192 bytes) The radiating form of Barite (known as Bologna Stone) is much sought after.  I did not expect the radiation to show up on a photo, but take a close look at the light yellow-green  glow over the crystals. It is more obvious in the crystals to the  top right on the photo.

 

boltwoodite.crust.jpg (17855 bytes) Boltwoodite (Hydrated Potassium Uranyl Silicate Hydroxide - I looked  it up. I do not care to remember all that).  The bright  yellow, prismatic crystals of boltwoodite can be seen on the photo left.

 

boltwoodite.jpg (31998 bytes) Keep in mind that Boltwoodite is radioctive.

 

 

 

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