The Average Structural Density of Barite Crystals of Different Habit Types

Eight different habit types of barite crystals which could be classified into 4 essentially different groups were determined by morphological analysis: Eb group - barite crystals elongated in the [010] direction; Ea group - barite crystals elongated in the [100] direction; Tc group - barite crystals tabular on the basal pinacoid {001}; Ec group - barite crystals elongated in the [001] direction. By determination and comparison of the average structural densities of different habit types of barite crystals, it was possible to establish the spans of their values from 276.1 to 495.8, and overlapping of values for Eb group with Ea group and Tc group with Ec group. The sequence of habit types, with regard to the decreasing average structural density, i.e. the priority sequence of developing of barite crystal types, was determined: Eb group - Ea group - Tc group - Ec group