China Says It Found Huge Barite Deposit
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PEKING — THe Chinese Ministry of Geology and Mineral Resources said Sunday that a vast deposit of barite, believed to be larger than all the world’s known barite deposits put together, has been found in the central part of the country.
The deposit was estimated at 400 million tons. It is near the surface and easily recoverable, the ministry told the New China News Agency.
Barite is used in oil drilling and in the paint, paper and rubber industries. It is the source of barium, which also has medical uses.
China produces about 1 million tons of barite a year and plans to speed up output, the report said. In 1983, the last year for which figures are available, the Chinese exported 792,285 tons of the mineral.
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