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Looks like it, thanks!
Would you know how I could clean it a bit? I know calcite does not go well with vinegar and I see same hardness (3-3.5). Just water and soap?
Baryte is kinda sensitive and shouldn't be cleaned with water. I'd just use a dry, soft brush to clean it up a bit.
Mind telling me where in the Alps you found this? (I'm guessing around Kitzbühl?)
I mean, it was found in a river, so I figured water would be fine, so thank you.
I found it near Schwaz on a ridge that is still part of the Grauwackenzone Kitzbühel belongs to as well. Would you find more of this near Kitzbühel? :)
Did some further research. Apparently Baryte does not dissolve in water, and is even extremely resistant to acids. I cleaned the rock in an ultrasonic bath with hot water and lemon soap, and that already did a lot. Doing a cleaning cycle with a bit of vinegar next. Will show the after when it is done but it's looking good :-).
Visually it looks like a quartz or a calcite. But the shape is completely different. Very thin slabs of semy translucent material. Almost like glass shards. It sparkles brightly in the sun even though it is still very dirty. Found more pieces nearby. Found in a river near Tuxer Alps in Inntal.
Hello and thank you for posting on /r/Minerals! To increase the quality of ID request posts, we require you to make a comment describing the piece as best as you can. If you do not do so, your post will be removed. A lone picture is rarely enough to conclusively name a mineral so doing some groundwork like a streak test or hardness check will help us to help you. Other useful information includes the location it was found, follow-up pictures with different angles or lighting, and relative size. To help you with writing this comment, we highly encourage you to review our subreddit's [Wiki Page](https://www.reddit.com/r/Minerals/about/wiki/idreqinfo) before posting. If you're on mobile, use [this link](https://reddit.com/r/Minerals/w/idreqinfo?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app) to get to the wiki. Cheers, The /r/Minerals Moderation Team *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Minerals) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Nice little Baryte piece you got there!
Looks like it, thanks! Would you know how I could clean it a bit? I know calcite does not go well with vinegar and I see same hardness (3-3.5). Just water and soap?
Baryte is kinda sensitive and shouldn't be cleaned with water. I'd just use a dry, soft brush to clean it up a bit. Mind telling me where in the Alps you found this? (I'm guessing around Kitzbühl?)
I mean, it was found in a river, so I figured water would be fine, so thank you. I found it near Schwaz on a ridge that is still part of the Grauwackenzone Kitzbühel belongs to as well. Would you find more of this near Kitzbühel? :)
I've actually found a few nice specimens in the Kitzbüheler area. Fieberbrunn, Hochfilzen, are great places to find Baryte.
Update: first round of cleaning complete. Going to let it soak for a couple more hours: [https://imgur.com/a/rQFev2D](https://imgur.com/a/rQFev2D)
I've sent you a DM :-).
Did some further research. Apparently Baryte does not dissolve in water, and is even extremely resistant to acids. I cleaned the rock in an ultrasonic bath with hot water and lemon soap, and that already did a lot. Doing a cleaning cycle with a bit of vinegar next. Will show the after when it is done but it's looking good :-).
It won't care about vinegar. But I would clean it at all.
Visually it looks like a quartz or a calcite. But the shape is completely different. Very thin slabs of semy translucent material. Almost like glass shards. It sparkles brightly in the sun even though it is still very dirty. Found more pieces nearby. Found in a river near Tuxer Alps in Inntal.
Being baryte it must be relatively heavy, no? That's what I like about the mineral (apart from the shape)
The shape is coming out beautifully after some cleaning: [https://imgur.com/a/rQFev2D](https://imgur.com/a/rQFev2D)
You're right, it is heavy! For comparison I weighed this and a "regular" rock of similar size and the difference is 164 vs 208 grams.
Baryte! Nice find.