I agree with Rob, but, if the hole around the drill rods is filled with it, the barytes presumably also helps to support some of the not inconsiderable weight of the rods.
Returning to the market for barytes, the following is from my Grassington Mines monograph (British Mining No.46): in February 1788, Jacob Bailey, the Six Meers' agent, received an inquiry from a gentleman who wanted some samples of calx (barytes) for analysis. Sadly, neither the man's name nor his proposed use for the barytes is known. After visiting the mine, however, the man announced that he wished to purchase fifty tons, at ten shillings per ton lead weight (2464 lbs). Moreover, he had arranged for a joiner to make boxes for shipping it. The lease only entitled the lessees to take lead, however, and Bailey sought the Barmaster's advice. He offered to pay two shillings per ton duty but was told that the decision was Sir Beaumont Hotham's. The latter's reply has not been found, but the sale of 43.75 tons of barytes, for £21.88, are recorded in the accounts of the Six Meers partnership. This was the first known sale of barytes from the Grassington mines, but no others followed.
Mike Gill
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