Name/Title
PyriteEntry/Object ID
2004.1.10Description
Assemblage Zone: pegmatitic dikes
Chemical Composition: FeS2
Crystal System: Cubic or Isometric S
Description: Common Name: Pyrite
Chemistry: FeS2, Iron Sulfide
Class: Sulfides
Group: Pyrite
Uses: A very minor ore of sulfur for sulfuric acid, used in jewelry under the trade name "marcasite" and as mineral specimens.
Location: Found in the Huanzala Mine, Huallanca District, Dos de Mayo Province, Huanuco Department, Peru.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
Color is brassy yellow.
Luster is metallic.
Transparency: Crystals are opaque.
Crystal System is isometric; bar 3 2/m
Crystal Habits include the cube, octahedron and pyritohedron (a dodecahedron with pentagonal faces) and crystals with combinations of these forms. Good interpenetration twins called iron crosses are rare. Pyrite is commonly found in nodules. A flattened nodular variety called "Pyrite Suns" or "Pyrite Dollars" is popular in rock shops. Also massive or reniform and replaces other minerals and fossils forming pseudomorphs or copies.
Cleavage is very indistinct.
Fracture is conchoidal.
Hardness is 6 - 6.5
Specific Gravity is approximately 5.1+ (heavier than average for metallic minerals)
Streak is greenish black.
Other Characteristics: Brittle, striations on cubic faces caused by crossing of pyritohedron with cube. (note - striations on cube faces also demonstrate pyrite's lower symmetry). Pyrite (unlike gold) is not malleable.
Associated Minerals are quartz, calcite, gold, sphalerite, galena, fluorite and many other minerals. Pyrite is so common it may be quicker to name the unassociated minerals.
Best Field Indicators are crystal habit, hardness, streak, luster and brittleness.
Fracture: conchoidal
Hardness: 6 Orthoclase
Luster: Metallic
Occurrence: Occurs in rocks, intramagnetic deposits, hydrothermal veins, as concretion in sediments, in metamorphic deposits.
Rock Color: Light
Rock Type: Igneous
Specific Gravity: 5.1+
Streak: Greenish Black
Texture: Crystaline
Variety: Pyrite is the classic "Fool's Gold". There are other shiny brassy yellow minerals, but pyrite is by far the most common and the most often mistaken for gold.
Pyrite is a polymorph of marcasite, which means that it has the same chemistry, FeS2, as marcasite; but a different structure and therefore different symmetry and crystal shapes. Pyrite is difficult to distinguish from marcasite when a lack of clear indicators existsCollection
Suomynona Mineral CollectionAcquisition
Accession
2004.1Source or Donor
Suomynona Mineral CollectionAcquisition Method
DonationDimensions
Width
3-1/4 inDepth
3 inLength
6-1/2 inWeight
3.45 ozDimension Notes
Dimension taken at widest pointsLocation
Category
PermanentMoved By
Wendy MondryDate
December 26, 2008Category
Permanent
