Description

The name barite is derived from the Greek baryos meaning heavy or heavy spar .Barite occur in numerous colors; white, brown, yellow, red and gray are most common. The colors are the result of impurities such as iron, strontium and lead, and mineral contaminants such as clay and sand. Barite is insoluble in water and is resistant to acid attack.

Barite ore is an important industrial mineral that is used as a weighing agent in drilling mud by oil producing companies in the oil and gas industry. The quality of barite ore measured based on the specific gravity {S.G} of the product and a specific gravity of 4.2 and above is generally preferred.

Nigeria has an estimated reserve of over two million {2,000,000} metric tonnes of barite ore scattered in different parts of the country to include Benue, Nassarrawa, Plateau and Cross River states.

Barite ore just like any other industrial mineral requires processing and the basic process of processing is collection, particle reduction and packaging. Barite ore is ground to a range of products of the different sizes needed for the variety of applications. Most commercially available products are 200 or 325 mesh, or finer, down to a few microns.

The ore is selected and the process is controlled for one or more of the following properties: color, particle size, specific gravity and bulk density.
Nigeria being the sixth largest exporter of crude oil in the world, as an established, sustainable and growing market for barite ore in Nigeria.

Barite ore though locally available used to be imported into the country until the government placed a ban on the importation of the product in order to encourage the local industry.

The recent enactment of the Nigeria oil and gas industry content development Act meant to encourage the participation of indigenous firms in the oil and gas industry has certainly opened a lot of investment opportunities and particularly for the supply of barite ore to local processors in Nigeria.

The Act specifically imposes an obligation for the maintenance of a required Nigerian content level on all subsequent contracts and agreement carried out by companies operating in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

The return on investment in the supply of barite ore in Nigeria is estimated at between 25%- 40%.