BARYTES

16 Barytes

arytes or barite, the mineral form of barium sulphate, is named after the Greek word 'baros' meaning heavy or dense. Approximately, 90% barytes produced worldwide is used for oil and gas drilling as weighing agent in drilling mud because of its unique physical and chemical properties and magnetic neutrality. It is also used as a feedstock for barium chemicals production, and as a filler, extender and aggregate. Another application after its conversion to barium carbonate is in the manufacture of ceramic and glass. The Mangampet deposit in Cuddapah district of Andhra Pradesh is the single largest deposit in the world. India is one of the leading producers and exporters of barytes in the world.

PRODUCTION, STOCKS AND PRICES

The production of barytes at 1,072 thousand tonnes in 2007-08 registered a decrease of 36 % as compared to that in the previous year due to lack of demand and labour shortage . There were 8 reporting mines during the year under review as against 10 in the preceding year. Andhra Pradesh continued to account for almost the entire production of barytes. Very nominal production was reported from Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. The Andhra Pradesh Mineral Dev. Corp. (APMDC) Ltd is the sole producer in public sector, which accounted for 97% of the total production during 2007-08. One mine of K. Sivananda Reddy, a private sector producer, contributed above 1% of the production.The remaining 2% was the contribution of 6 mines each producing below 20 thousand tonnes annually. The entire production of barytes was of off colour variety during the year (Tables - 2 to 6). The mine-head stocks of barytes at the end of year 2007-08 were 2,619 thousand tonnes as against 2,197 thousand tonnes at the beginning of the year. The average daily employment of labour in 2007-08 was 185 as against 499 in the previous year. Domestic prices of barytes are furnished in Table-7.

RESOURCES
The total resources of barytes in India as on 1.4.2000 as per UNFC system are placed at 74 million tonnes constituting 46% reserves and 54% remaining resources. By grades, 40% resources are of oil-well drilling grade, 4% chemical grade and 34% low grade. About 21% resources are of other, unclassified and notknown categories. Andhra Pradesh alone accounted for more than 94% of country's resources of barytes (Table - 1).

EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT

In 2006-07, GSI conducted exploration for barytes in Mangampet area of Cuddapah district, Andhra Pradesh by way of test drilling. All the four test boreholes intersected carbonaceous tuff, the host rock for barytes. The first borehole intersected thin bands of barytes. However, the drilling has not indicated any promising results.

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Table - 1 : Reserves/Resources of Barytes as on 1.4.2005 (By Grades/States)

(In tonnes) Reserves Probable STD121 359813 2313033 34312780 4347714 26482273 244159 708880 8107541 STD122 STD221 STD222 39890567 74203347 Total (A) Pre-feasibility Measured STD331 Indicated STD332 Inferred STD333 Total (B) Remaining resources Total resources (A+B)

Grade/State

Proved STD111

All India : Total

31639934

By Grades 39848 29714 169400 63801 55000 2050 6676 24784 3808 29812 69024 83195 250595 8228524 3976200 1484292 13835 73835 310668 21775806 26450 105378 4500 126625 218939 37700 36160 1475769 24963075 3197700 104279 95356 201607 383437 23146 24475 16717 474338 208114 351162 2858 560285 842060 1312626 159261 3308665 275679 1494283 154682 563143 1380736 4709961 233121 25421589 5736171 1682856 162990 914305 1764173 29673036 452060 25495424 13964695 1751880 187774

Chemical-A

103200

Chemical-B

152116

Oil well drilling

23317906

Paint

28513

Low

5000

Others

7977929

BARYTES

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347165 12648 94461 281850 310668 4472 4472 18500 17000 1382221 11001 37700 37700 2203099 33988758 3980846 25083052 155391 36160 14800 37808 -

Unclassified

37162

Not-known

18108

By States 127060 12370 35000 89450 11500 500 433000 6561343 440 15126 35900 15175 233940 1610 997088 221919 25000 35907692 440 101356 35900 15175 287440 122860 2739285 222419 25000 433000 69896450 440 139056 35900 15175 291912 122860 3021135 222419 25000 433000

Andhra Pradesh

31438494

Haryana

Himachal Pradesh

26699

Jharkhand

Karnataka

Madhya Pradesh

Maharashtra

Rajasthan

174741

Tamil Nadu

Uttarakhand

West Bengal

Figures rounded off.

BARYTES

Table -2 : Principal Producers of Barytes 2007-08

1800 Production (Thousand tonnes)
Location of mine Name and address of producer State Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corpn. Ltd., House No. 8-3-945, Ameerpet, Pancom Business Centre, Hyderabad-500 073, Andhra Pradesh. K. Sivananda Reddy, 1/ 397-1, Court Road, Dist. Cuddapah, Andhra Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh District Cuddapah

Production of Barytes 1998-99 to 2007-08

1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07
Total Offcolour 1071765 1040532 31233 1063437 1050367 8810 4260 738 738 7590 7590 Quantity 1071765 1040532 31233 1063437 1050367 8810 4260 738 738 7590 7590 Value 553202 539067 14135 544943 541889 2203 851 1079 1079 7180 7180

Andhra Pradesh

Cuddapah

Year

Table - 3 : Production of Barytes, 2005-06 to 2007-08 (By States)

(Qty. in tonnes; value in Rs. '000) 2005-06 State Quantity India Andhra Pradesh Himachal Pradesh Rajasthan 11 5 6 2 2 7 1149627 549 6051 Value 444147 438062 714 5371 Quantity 1680695 1670506 1019 9170 Value 947053 936965 1427 8661 Quantity 1071765 1063437 738 7590 Value 553202 544943 1079 7180 2006-07 2007-08 (p)

Table - 4 : Production of Barytes, 2006-07 and 2007-08 (By Sectors/States/Districts/Grades)

(Qty. in tones; value in Rs.000) 2006-07 Grades State/District No. of mines India Public sector Private sector Andhra Pradesh Cuddapah Khammam Prakasam Himachal Pradesh Sirmour Rajasthan Alwar Udaipur 10 1 9 7 5 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 SnowWhite 24285 24285 24285 24285 Offcolour 1656410 1630479 25931 1646221 1632681 9930 3610 1019 1019 9170 95 9075 Quantity 1680695 1630479 50216 1670506 1656966 9930 3610 1019 1019 9170 95 9075 Value 947053 924482 22571 936965 933165 3078 722 1427 1427 8661 76 8585 No of mines 8 1 7 6 4 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 SnowWhite Total Grades 2007-08 (p)

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2007-08

BARYTES

Table - 5 : Production of Barytes, 2006-07 and 2007-08 (p) (By Frequency Groups)
(Qty. in tonnes) No. of mines Production Group 2006-07 All Groups Up to 200 201-500 501-1000 1001-2000 2001-5000 5001-20000 Above 20000 10 1 2 1 2 2 2 2007-08 8 2 1 1 3 1 Production for the group 2006-07 1680695 95 1543 1019 5864 19005 1653169 2007-08 1071765 535 738 4260 25700 1040532 Percentage in total production 2006-07 100.00 0.01 0.00 0.09 0.06 0.35 1.13 98.36 2007-08 100.00 0.00 0.05 0.07 0.00 0.40 2.40 97.08 Cumulative percentage 2006-07 0.01 0.01 0.10 0.16 0.51 1.64 100.00 2007-08 0.00 0.05 0.12 0.12 0.52 2.92 100.00

Table - 6 : Mine-head Stocks of Barytes, 2007-08 (p) (By States/Grades)

(In tonnes) At the beginning of the year Grades State Snow white India Andhra Pradesh Himachal Pradesh Rajasthan 17896 17896 Off-colour 2178706 2177766 87 853 2196602 2195662 87 853 To t a l Snow white 201589 201589 Off-colour 2417766 2417298 87 381 2619355 2618887 87 381 At the end of the year Grades To t a l

Table - 7 : Prices of Barytes, 2005-06 to 2007-08 ( Domestic Markets)

(In Rs. per tonne) Grade `A grade lump `B grade lump `A grade, S.G. 4.25 `B grade, S.G. 4.15 White Barytes Powder (300 mesh) Off- colour barytes powder (300 mesh) Ore Grade White Barytes, A - grade Buff Barytes, B - grade Loose White Barytes, A - grade lumps Buff Barytes, B - grade Lump Market Ex-stock Yard Mangampet (Andhra Pradesh) Ex-stock Yard Mangampet (Andhra Pradesh) Ex-mine Mangampet (Andhra Pradesh) Ex-mine Mangampet (Andhra Pradesh) Ex-mine Cuddapah (Andhra Pradesh) Ex-mine Cuddapah (Andhra Pradesh) Ex-mine Cuddapah (Andhra Pradesh) Ex-mine Garla (Andhra Pradesh) Ex-mine Garla (Andhra Pradesh) Ex-mine Mudhkotri (Rajasthan) ex-mine cuddapah (Andhra Pradesh) ex-mine cuddapah(Andhra Pradesh) 2005-06 1055 789 1055 789 3500 1200 350 1000 400 250 850 150 2006-07 1108 829 1055 789 3500 1200 350 NQ 400 250 850 150 2007-08(p) 1108 829 1055 789 3500 1200 350 NQ 400 250 1000 250

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BARYTES

MINING, MARKETING AND TRANSPORT

Barytes mines in India are worked by opencast method, except one in Himachal Pradesh and three in Andhra Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh Mineral Develop-ment Corp. Ltd , the largest producer, obtains barytes from the mechanised opencast mine in Mangampet area in Cuddapah district, Andhra Pradesh. Drills, loaders, dozers and dumper trucks are used for removing overburden. Barytes won from benches using jackhammers is loaded mainly on to the trucks. Barytes is milled in crushing/grinding plants before marketing. Barytes is exported from Chennai Port, 100 km from the mine. While marketing, barytes is graded into two varieties: off-colour and snow-white. The white and snow-white varieties are used generally as fillers in the manufacture of rubber goods and as

an opacifying material in the manufacture of paints and paper. The off-colour barytes is used for manufacturing chemicals or as drilling muds. Both the well-known grades; namely, Oil Companies Material Association (OCMA) and American Petroleum Institute (API) were produced and marketed by the country. The country supplies drilling grade barytes to Middle East and South America.

CONSUMPTION
The reported consumption of barytes declined to 125,700 tonnes in 2007-08 from 130,700 tonnes in 2006-07. Oil-well drilling industry, the main consumer of barytes accounted for 68% consumption, followed by chemical industry 26%. Other barytes consuming industries like paint, asbestos products, glass, rubber and paper accounted for the remaining 6% consumption (Table-8).

Table - 8 : Reported Consumption of Barytes, 2005-06 to 2007-08 (By Industries)

(In tonnes) Industry All Industries Asbestos products Chemical Glass Oil well drilling Paint Paper Rubber 2005-06 (R) 131000 1000 (1) 33200 (4) 600 ( 8 ) 90600 ( 2 ) 5600 (28) ++ (1) 2006-07 130700 1000 (1) 33200 (4) 600 (8) 90200 ( 2 ) 5600 ( 2 8 ) ++ (1) 100 ( 4 ) 2007-08 (p) 125700 1000 33200 600 85200 5600 ++ 100 (1) (4) (8) (2) (28) (1) (4)

100 ( 4 )

Figures rounded off. Data collected on non-statutory basis. Figures in parentheses denote the number of units in organised sector reporting consumption.

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BARYTES

USES AND SPECIFICATIONS

Oil and Gas Drilling
The properties like insolubility in water, inertness and high specific gravity enable barytes application as a weighing agent in drilling operations to control pressure, prevent blow-out and at the same time to provide lubrication. Barytes powder containing minimum 90% barium sulphate and having 4.15 specific gravity is recommended for drilling. For offshore drilling, the specific gravity should be 4.2. At least 97% ground barytes should pass through 75- micron IS sieve and 95% through 53- micron IS sieve.

siliceous minerals. Presence of iron oxide is undesirable. The material should be in the form of dry powder.

Glass
In glass manufacturing, barytes is added to the glass melt for making the glass more workable and increasing its brilliance. Iron is the most undesirable impurity.

Rubber
Barytes is used as a filler and extender in rubber products. It is added to rubber compounds for reinforcement. Barytes containing minimum 99.5% BaSO is usually preferred. Since such 4 purity material is not found in nature, before use, barytes is normally bleached called 'blanc fixe'. The sieve residue through 75-micron and 150micron sieve should be 4% and 0.01% max, respectively.

Chemical
Major barium chemicals obtained from barytes are carbonate, chloride, oxide, hydroxide, nitrate, peroxide and sulphate. Barium carbonate is used i n g l a s s i n d u s t r y, e l e c t r o - c e r a m i c s a n d f o r removing inconvenient impurities in phosphoric acid. Barium hydroxide is used in the preparation of barium salts of organic acids which are employed as additives for lubricating oils and as stabilisers for PVC. Barium sulphate is used as pigment, extender and filler in rubber and paper industries. Lithopone, a mixture of BaSO 4 and ZnS, is used in paint and lacquer industries as white pigments, extenders and fillers. Barium nitrate is used in green signal flares, tracer bullets, primers and detonators. Barium oxide is used in electric furnace. Barium titanate finds use in miniature electronic and communication equipment. Barytes is also used for explosive manufacture. For chemical industry, purity is the prime criterion, with ferric oxide and strontium sulphate limited to a maximum 1% and fluorine as traces. The mesh size is also important in manufacturing chemicals. Barytes used for explosive manufacture may be bleached or unbleached. It should be in dry powder form free from extraneous matter.

Other Uses
Barytes is used in the manufacture of asbestos products required for autobrake lining and other frictional materials. It is used as a filler in paper industry. Finely ground barytes and clay are used as suspension in Barvois system of coal washing. Barytes is also used in concrete aggregate required for reactor shielding. The specifications of barytes for various industries are given in Table - 9.

SUBSTITUTES AND TECHNICAL POSSIBILITIES

Drilling mud substitutes include celestite, iron ore, synthetic hematite and ilmenite but the low cost and technical advantages of barytes deter substitution. Iron ore fines and ilmenite are substitutes used for deep drilling. Reclamation and recycling of drilling muds would decrease the requirement of new supplies. New oil exploration techniques and drilling methods are reducing the need for new boreholes and wells, and hence, the requirement for drilling muds may decrease. As a filler, barytes can be substituted by diatomite, felspar, kaolin, mica, talc and silica flour.

Paint
Barytes is used as filler and extender in paint industry. White pigment is manufactured from barytes. Barytes should be free from mud, clay or

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Table - 9 : Specifications of Barytes in Different Industries

Chemical C onstituent Fineness Relative Colour density Volatile matter Oil pH absorption Physical characteristic Remarks

Industry

IS Specifications/ Specifications of other organisation BaSO4 SiO2 CaCO3 BaCO3 Aluminium as Al (a) Passing 4.15 through at 75-micron 27oC IS sieve : 97% min (b) Passing through 53micron IS sieve : 95% min Off colour Iron as Fe Residue on sieve

1. Oil-well drilling

IS : 2881-1984, 90% (Second min Revision, Reaffirmed 2003) Grade-2

For offshore drilling, relative density shall be 4.20.

BARYTES

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2% max 1.5% 4.0 min 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 2.24% max 4.45 at 25oC

2. Chemical IS : 2881-1984, (Second Revision, Reaffirmed 2003) Grade-1

Quality A' 97% min Quality B 90%

Silica and aluminium oxide together shall be 6% max.

3. Paint

IS : 64-1972, 95% (First Revision, min Reaffirmed 2004) Type - I Grade - I

Snow0.5% white to white. A close match to that of approved sample

0.25% on 40-micron IS sieve

6 to 12

6 to 8

Matter soluble in water should not be more than 0.5%.

(Contd.)

Table -9 (Concld.)
Industry Aluminium as Al Iron as Fe Fineness Relative density IS Specifications/ Specifications of other organisation BaSO4 SiO2 CaCO3 BaCO3 Chemical C onstituent Physical characteristic Colour Volatile matter Residue on sieve

Remarks

Oil pH absorption

Grade-II min

95%

2.24% max

4.45% at 25oC

-do-

0.5%

0.25% on 63micron IS sieve

6 to 12

6 to 8

Matter soluble in water should not be more than

0.5%. 3.36 A close match to that of approved sample 0.5% 0.1% on 40-micron IS sieve

BARYTES

Type-II precipitated min max

97%

0.45%

15

Matter soluble

to 30

to 8

in water should not be more

than 0.5%.

4. Glass

Based on users 90 to demand 98% (preferably 96%)

1.5% max

0.15% 0.3 max as t o 0.5% Al2O3 max (preferably 0.1% Fe2O3)

30/80 mesh

Iron is the most undesirable impurity; white colour or light shades are preferred.

Note : BIS has prescribed IS: 1683-1994 for specifications of barytes used in rubber industry and IS:7588-1992 for that used in explosive industry.

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BARYTES

TRADE POLICY
As per Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2004-09, in force, import and export of barytes (both lumps and powder) as also witherite (natural barium carbonate) are allowed without restrictions under heading No. 2511.

Table - 11 : World Production of Barytes (By Principal Countries)

(In 000 tonnes) Country World : Total Brazil 2005 8100 43 77 4100 e 81 89 1156 231 269 269 598 63 4 157 64 489 116 294 2006 9100 48 75 4600 e 40 86 1731 226 261 200 628 63 5 160 48 598 90 241 2007 8100 37 51 4300 88 999 226e 280 186 665 64 9 150 53 540 90 362

WORLD REVIEW
The world reserve base of barytes was assessed at 880 million tonnes. China, Kazakhastan, India, USA, Algeria, Morocco, Thailand and Turkey accounted for 62% world reserve base (Table-10). The world production of barytes decreased to 8.1 million tonnes in 2007 from 9.1 million tonnes in 2006. The leading producers were China (53%), followed by India (12%), Morocco (8%) and USA (7%). The countrywise production of barytes is given in Table - 11. Table - 10 : World Resources of Barytes (By Principal Countries)
(In 000 tonnes) Country World : Total (rounded) Algeria Brazil China France Germany India* Iran Kazakhastan Korea, North Mexico Morocco Russia Thailand Turkey UK USA Other countries Reserve base 880000 15000 5000 360000 2500 1500 80000 NA 150000 NA 8500 11000 3000 15000 20000 600 45000 160000

Bulgaria China France Germany India* Iran Kazakhstan Mexico Morocco Russia Thailand Turkey e UK USA Vietnam Other countries

Source : World Mineral Production, 2003-2007. * Indias production of barytes in 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 was 11,56,227 tonnes, 1,680,695 tonnes and 1,071,765 tonnes, respectively.

FOREIGN TRADE
Exports
Exports of barytes decreased to 5.65 lakh tonnes in 2007-08 from 6.30 lakh tonnes in the previous year. Exports were mainly to Saudi Arabia (34%), Mexico (21%), UAE (15%), Venezuela (8%), Egypt (6%) and Oman (5%). In 2007-08, 120 tonnes of witherite was also exported. (Tables - 12 and 13).

Imports
In 2007-08, imports of barytes decreased to 1,369 tonnes from 3,181 tonnes in the previous year. Imports were mainly from China (73%) and UK (8%) (Tables - 14 and 15). There were no imports of witherite.

Source: Mineral Commodity Summaries, 2008. * Indias resources of barytes as per UNFC system are placed at about 74 million tonnes.

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BARYTES

Table - 12 : Exports of Barytes (By Countries)

2006-07 Country Qty (t) All Countries Saudi Abrabia Mexico UAE Egypt Oman Venezuela Sudan Trinidad Kuwait USA Other Countries 629518 111154 130536 21273 42909 22000 11762 16295 62200 192500 18889 Value (Rs.000) 1475606 296998 248098 63653 79316 39471 40849 38843 97060 501931 69387 Qty (t) 564800 193430 117633 82305 32339 28400 44111 19609 9999 397 36577 Value (Rs.000) 1327465 383368 228197 181885 93997 93671 92961 70616 33359 1561 147850 2007-08

Table - 13 : Exports of Witherite (By Countries)

2006-07 Country Qty (t) All Countries USA UAE Germany Value (Rs.000) Qty (t) 120 20 100 ++ Value (Rs.000) 1349 821 522 3 2007-08 Country

Table - 15 : Imports of Witherite (By Countries)

2006-07 Qty (t) All Countries China USA 180 180 ++ Value (Rs.000) 1695 1692 3 2007-08 Qty (t) Value (Rs.000) -

Kuwait

++

Table - 14 : Imports of Barytes (By Countries)

2006-07 Country Qty (t) All Countries China UK Germany Thailand Vietnam USA Nepal France Italy Japan 3181 2996 59 16 74 3 ++ 33 Value (Rs.000) 16492 12903 1289 314 1105 39 51 791 Qty (t) 1369 993 114 5 84 162 11 ++ Value (Rs.000) 12592 8229 1668 1233 982 369 108 3 2007-08

FUTURE OUTLOOK
India ranks second in the production of barytes in the world after China and is one of the important exporters in the world market. India has surplus resources of barytes and it can meet comfortably not only the needs of the domestic industry but also of the export market. Therefore, concerted efforts are necessary to boost up the export of barytes and its micronised products from the country. The worldwide demand for barytes may probably continue to grow till petroleum products are preferred as chief energy source. Demand for oil and gas remained strong and would further encourage exploration and development of wells which consequently will boost barytes consumption.

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