.

Opportunities and challenges in barites business in Nigeria is examined in this paper as a first step in an overall strategy to create a unique platform for accelerated and sustainable exploitation, beneficiation and marketing of the commodity in Nigeria. While there are several barite deposits in Nigeria, only the deposits in Gbajimba area in the Middle Benue Trough were assessed for their fundamental properties. Using immersion and pycnometric methods of Specific gravity (SG) determinations, the SG of fifteen (15) representative samples taken from three mining sites (Tiza, Adagu and Torkula) ranges between 4.2231 and 4.3222. X – Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analysis of two of the samples yielded total barite (Ba) of 72.61% and 72.12% in Tiza and Adagu respectively, which correspond to a calculated total Barium Oxide (BaO2) of 57.68% and 56.96%. The other relatively significant elements in the barite are Si, Fe, Sr, Ca, Al, Pb, Mg, Mn, P and Ni. XRD results show that the sample is predominantly barite with insignificant quantity of wenkite and Anadite. If unground barites could yield the above results, beneficiation of the barites in the study area could make Nigerian barites one of the best in the world, not only in terms of quality but in the cost of production because those that are being worked presently requires open-cast mining methods. Further exploration down dip may yield a larger reserve.
Key Words: Artisanal, Benue Trough, unground barites, specific gravity, open-cast, overburden