This is the first crystal that has fascinated me. It is also known as Fool’s Gold due to many miners thinking it is the real thing. What makes is even more interesting is that this crystal is very common. When I first saw it I thought it was manufactured like that, but apparently it is not. It comes in raw form like that. We are used to people manufacturing perfect angles so to see mother nature manufacture something like this is nothing short of amazing. The crystal I bought is very much like the one above and it comes from Spain. My son (8 years old) also liked Pyrite although he didn’t know it – his was sculpted and looked more like the picture below (from Peru).
Pyrite consists of FeS2, one iron element and 2 sulfur. The name Pyrite is from the Greek word πυρά (pura) meaning “fire”. Pyrite is used commercially for the production of sulfur dioxide, for use in such applications as the paper industry, and in the manufacture of sulfuric acid, though such applications are declining in importance. It is also used for costume jewelry. Pyrite is often confused with the mineral Marcasite, a name derived from the Arabic word for Pyrite, due to their similar characteristics. Marcasite is a polymorph of Pyrite, which means it has the same formula as pyrite but a different structure and, therefore, different symmetry and crystal shapes.
Bravoite is a nickel variety of Pyrite but is not a formally recognised mineral, and is named after Peruvian scientist Jose J. Bravo (1874-1928)
Although pyrite is common and contains a high percentage of iron, it has never been used as a significant source of iron. Iron oxides such as hematite and magnetite, are the primary iron ores. Pyrite is not as economical as these ores possibly due to their tendency to form larger concentrations of more easily mined material. Pyrite would be a potential source of iron if these ores should become scarce.
According to Judy Hall’s The Crystal Bible Iron Pyrite is :
- An excellent energy shield – against negative energy and pollutants
- Helps in business planning and diplomacy
- Helps men and women who feel inferior (hope it doesn’t reflect on me !)
- Accelerate mental activity
- Relieves melancholy
- etc.
You can read more at : Wikipedia or Web Mineral or Mindat
there is one pyrite store next to every single starbucks in the whole wide world. uh uh …..
i have a question cuz i got 2 do a acrostic poem 4 science class about iron but i dont know how 2 can u help me??
were can u get it
It’s amazing to see such perfect polyhedrons produced in nature.
Hello-
Ihave recently been on your website and was wondering ifyou sell any of the samples shown. They would look great in my plant arangements.
Thank you for your your time.
chazh@optonline.net