Some 77% worldwide is used as a weighting agent for drilling fluids in oil and gas exploration to suppress high formation pressures and prevent blowouts.
"The deeper the hole, the more barite is needed as a percentage of the total mud mix. An additional benefit of barite is that it is non-magnetic and thus does not interfere with magnetic measurements taken in the borehole, either during logging-while-drilling or in separate drill hole logging."
Barite used for drilling petroleum wells can be black, blue, brown or gray depending on the ore body.
Other uses are in added-value applications which include filler in paint and plastics, sound reduction in engine compartments, coat of automobile finishes for smoothness and corrosion resistance, friction products for automobiles and trucks, radiation-shielding cement, glass ceramics and medical applications.
Baryte was used for the production of barium hydroxide for sugar refining, and as a white pigment for textiles, paper, and paint.
The major baryte producers (in 2010) are as follows: China (3,600,000), India (1,000,000), United States (670,000), Morocco (460,000), Iran (250.000), Turkey (150,000) and Kazakhstan.