BARITE

Production and consumption Because of high specific gravity (SG), barite is the weighting agent of choice in oil and natural-gas drilling fluids, used to suppress high formation pressures and to prevent blowouts. In the United States this application typically accounts for more than 90 percent of barite sales. Barite also is used in radiation-shielding concrete, as a contrast medium in medical X-rays, and as filler, extender or weighting agent in products such as paints, plastics and rubber. Because of barite’s use in drilling fluids, trends in barite consumption generally mirror trends in drilling rig counts, which in turn reflect broader trends in oil and gas consumption. In 2022, the worldwide annual average drilling rig count was 1,747, an increase of 28 percent compared with that in 2021, although it remained 20 percent below the 2019 prepandemic average of 2,177. The U.S. annual average count of rigs was 721, an increase of 52 percent compared with 2021, but still 24 percent less than the 2019 average of 944. Domestically, an estimated 2.1 Mt of barite (from domestic production and imports) was sold by crushers and grinders operating in nine states, an increase of 26 percent compared with that in 2021, but still 11 percent below the prepandemic quantity of 2.35 Mt in 2019 (Fig. 1). Three companies mined barite in Nevada. Mine production increased, but data were withheld to avoid disclosing company proprietary data. Halliburton Co.’s Rossi Mine and Progressive Contracting Inc.’s Coyote Mine resumed production after having been idle since 2016 and 2020, respectively. All of Baker Hughes Co.’s Nevada current and former barite facilities, which included the Argenta Mine and Mill and Slaven Canyon Mine, remained idle in 2022. According to information from the state of Nevada, the Argenta Mine was mostly reclaimed in 2022, and a portion of the mill property was sold to I-80 Gold Corp. I-80 Gold intended to use the mill property for water and rail access. There was no further information available on Baker Hughes’ Slaven Canyon Mine. CS Global Group, a barite mining company based in Turkey, invested $10 million to construct a barite grinding plant in Moundsville, WV, which would be operated by its subsidiary ADO Industries. The company would initially produce barite for use in drilling fluids but planned to add a second mill to produce barite for use in filler and paint. In December, Cimbar Performance Minerals Inc. announced that it had completed its acquisition of Excalibar Minerals LLC’s barite assets. Prior to the acquisition, Cimbar owned seven grinding plants — three in Texas, two in Ohio and one each in Georgia and Indiana. The acquisition of Excalibar included four additional plants — two in Texas and one each in Louisiana and Tennessee. Historical trends in sales of ground barite, barite mine production and annual average rig count in the United States from 1975 through 2022. *Beginning in 2020, mine production information is withheld to avoid disclosing company proprietary data. (Sources: Baker Hughes Co. and U.S. Geological Survey) World production of barite in 2022, excluding the United States, was estimated to have increased by 17 percent to 7.9 Mt. Most of the increase was from India, which surpassed China as the world’s leading producer. Production in India was estimated to have increased by 63 percent to 2.6 Mt. Other leading barite producing countries were China and Morocco, with production of 1.9 Mt and 1.3 Mt, respectively. Together, these three countries accounted for approximately 73 percent of world production, excluding the United States. Domestic trade In 2022, U.S. barite imports were 1.89 Mt, a 31 percent increase compared with those in 2021. The leading import sources, in descending order of quantity, were India (924 kt), China (434 kt), Morocco (257 kt) and Mexico (253 kt). Together, these four countries accounted for 99 percent of domestic barite imports. Prices Fastmarkets IM publishes annual average prices of unground lump barite meeting American Petroleum Institute specifications with SG of 4.2 from leading exporting countries. In 2022, the freeon- board (F.O.B.) annual average price from China was $110/t compared with $100/t in 2021, an increase of 10 percent. The F.O.B. annual average price from Chennai, India was $115/t, an increase of 24 percent compared with $93/t in 2021. The F.O.B. annual average price from Morocco was $107/t, an increase of 17 percent compared with $92/t in 2021. In April 2022, India’s state-owned Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corp. Ltd. concluded its tender for the sale of barite from its Mangampet Mine, which accounts for an estimated 90 percent of barite produced in India. During the tender, buyers compete for the company’s barite production, which is offered in several grades: A-grade, with a minimum SG of 4.2; B-grade, with a minimum SG of 4.1; and C-, D- and W-grades, with no guarantee as to SG but which typically exceeded 3.9. Prices for A- and B-grades increased by about 30 to 45 percent, or approximately $25/t. Three U.S. companies reportedly signed agreements to purchase a total of 1.6 Mt of barite over the next three years. Outlook Barite production and consumption generally follow broad trends in oil-gas metrics such as petroleum prices and drilling rig counts. Although the U.S. annual average rig count was higher in 2022, weekly rig counts in 2023 began to decrease. This was likely a response to crude oil prices, which were on a decreasing trend in the latter half of 2022. Despite a slight increase in the forecast crude oil price in the first quarter of 2023, the U.S. Energy Information Administration forecast that crude oil prices would continue to decline in the latter half of 2023 and into 2024. References are available from the author.

BARITE

Authored by:
Michele E. McRae

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From sessions to strategy: Revealing long-term and emerging innovation trends in data analytics, intelligent systems and automation

Mining education gets federal boost as industry faces workforce crunch

Critical minerals management on the federal seabed

To view the past issues of the UCA magazine you must be a member of SME/UCA.

BALL CLAY

BAUXITE

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