Some dissolve readily while others do not. Most are translucent to transparent and are light in color. A few have a very high specific gravity. Most are soft.
Sulfates commonly occur in sedimentary deposits or as secondary minerals in ore veins.
The two most common species of sulfates are gypsum and barite. Gypsum is very soft and is used in the production of plaster of paris and wallboard. Barite is chiefly used as a pigment and a mud to buoy up oil well drilling equipment. Barite has played an important role in the mining history of Bartow County. Some of the massive specimens exhibit a blue color and have tested positive for the element strontium.