Image of a hand specimen of Barytes.

Barytes was worked in Glen Sannox, Isle of Arran from 1836 until 1862 and again on a more extensive scale from 1919 until 1939. It is used in the drilling of oil wells and is a rich source of barium salts.

This is a pink crystalline barytes specimen with tabular and radiating crystals and has a very high specific gravity.

A light railway was constructed from the mine to concrete hoppers by the roadside and a pier was built in Sannox Bay. The mine was finally closed at the beginning of the second world war. The output increased from 300 tons in 1920 to 8,693 tons in 1934.

SCRAN ID: 000-000-096-904-C; Arran Heritage Museum