Barite

specimen number:
9273011

location:
Linwood Mine, Scott Co., Iowa, USA

description:
Prismatic glassy gem quality deep amber colored crystal of barite almost 5.0 cm in length set on a calcite rich matrix. This is from around the year 2011. In super condition. Excellent for the species from this locality.

The Linwood mine, situated along the Mississippi River in Davenport, Scott County, Iowa, United States, is a massive, highly active underground limestone quarrying operation recognized by mineralogists for producing well-formed crystals of calcite, barite, and marcasite. Geologically, the mine exploits the high-purity carbonate layers of the Middle Devonian-age Cedar Valley Group and Wapsipinicon Group, where thick sequences of limestone and dolomite are mined for aggregate, lime, and industrial uses. Minor post-depositional hydrothermal activity and localized fluid movement through fractures and solution cavities within these sedimentary units allowed for the crystallization of distinct scalenohedral calcite crystals, often associated with platy barite groupings and brassy sulfide coatings. Historically, surface quarrying at the Linwood site dates back to 1913 under the Linwood Stone Products Company, transitioning into a highly mechanized underground room-and-pillar mining operation in 1958 to access deeper, higher-quality limestone beds without disturbing the surface topography. The facility expanded significantly over the decades, changing corporate hands to McCarthy Improvement and later becoming a key asset of the Linwood Mining and Minerals Corporation. Through 2026, the Linwood mine remains in full commercial operation, standing as one of the largest underground limestone mines in the Midwest and serving as a classic regional geological example of sedimentary carbonate mineral environments.

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