Geology and the barite potential of the Raymond Widel Area, Cooper County, Missouri

The Raymond Widel barite prospect is two miles northeast of Blackwater Town, in parts of Sections 23, 24, 25, and 26, T49N, R19W, Cooper County, Missouri. Reported in the area since the 1850\u27s barite-galena deposits have been sporadically mined. The Burlington-Keokuk and Warsaw formations of Mississippian age are exposed. The former is composed of coarse-grained limestone with abundant fossils, and the latter is a fossiliferous cherty limestone. These reach a thickness of over 200 feet. Local structures are not significant, but regional fold and fault structures are present outside the area. Exploration drilling consisted of 31 drill holes ranging from 10 to 80 feet in depth. Soil depths from 0 to 10 feet, residuum from 4 to 20 feet and the top of the bedrock from 10 to 25 feet from the surface were recorded. Soils were collected and later geochemically analyzed for copper, lead, zinc and barium content by: (1) atomic absorption spectrophotometric method for Cu, Pb, and Zn, and by (2) x-ray fluorescence for the Ba content. Copper, lead and zinc anomalies do not entirely coincide in space but show a marked preference for the southern part. Two barium anomalies occur in the central and south-central parts. Barite occurs as: (1) residual deposits, (2) bedded replacement, and (3) open-space filling. Residual barite comprises the largest group. Bedded replacement barite occurs in Burlington-Keokuk limestone. Barite, galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, limonite, calcite, and chert are the minerals. The paragenetic sequence indicate galena deposited first, followed by pyrite and/or chalcopyrite, and later barite. Sphalerite was not observed. Limonite is an oxidation product --Abstract, pages ii-iii