Pyrite
| Pyrite | |
|---|---|
 A mass of intergrown pyrite crystals
|
|
| General | |
| Category | Sulphide mineral |
| Formula (repeating unit) |
iron disulfide (FeS2) |
| Identification | |
| Color | Pale brass-yellow, tarnishes darker and iridescent |
| Crystal habit | Cubic |
| Crystal system | Isometric Diploidal, Space group Pa3 |
| Mohs scale hardness | 6–6.5 |
| Luster | Metallic, glistening |
| Streak | Greenish-black to brownish-black; smells of sulphur |
| Specific gravity | 4.95–5.10 |
| Solubility | Insoluble in water |
| Other characteristics | paramagnetic |
The mineral pyrite,[1] or iron pyrite, is an iron sulfide with the formula FeS2. This mineral's metallic lustre and pale-to-normal, brass-yellow colour have earned it the nickname fool's gold because of its resemblance to gold. [2][3][4][5][6][7] The term pyrite may also be used for some other sulphides such as copper sulphide.
History[change | change source]
Pyrite is the most common of the sulphide minerals. In ancient Roman times, this name was applied to several types of stone that would create sparks when struck against steel; Pliny the Elder described one of them as being brassy, almost certainly a reference to what we now call pyrite.[8] By Georgius Agricola's time, the term had become a generic term for all of the sulphide minerals.[9]
Pyrite is usually found associated with other sulphides or oxides in quartz veins, sedimentary rock, and metamorphic rock, as well as in coal beds, and as a replacement mineral in fossils. Despite being nicknamed fool's gold, pyrite is sometimes found in association with small quantities of gold.
References[change | change source]
- ↑ The name pyrite is derived from the Greek πυρίτης (puritēs), "of fire" or "in fire", from πύρ (pur), "fire".
- ↑ Julia A. Jackson, James Mehl and Klaus Neuendorf, Glossary of Geology, American Geological Institute (2005) p82.
- ↑ Albert H. Fay, A glossary of the mining and mineral industry, United States Bureau of Mines (1920) pp. 103–104.
- ↑ Hurlbut, Cornelius S.; Klein, Cornelis 1985. Manual of Mineralogy. 20th ed, John Wiley and Sons, New York. 285–286 ISBN 0-471-80580-7
- ↑ Pyrite on webmineral
- ↑ Pyrite on Mindat.org
- ↑ Handbook of Mineralogy
- ↑ James Dwight Dana, Edward Salisbury Dana, Descriptive Minerology, 6th ed., Wiley, New York (1911) p86.
- ↑ Herbert Clark Hoover and Lou Henry Hoover, translators of Georgius Agricola, [De Re Metallica], The Mining Magazine, London (1912; Dover reprint, 1950); see footnote, p112.
