Pyrite
Barger Quarry
Lexington, Virginia

The crystal in this specimen measures 4cm x 5cm




Pyrite     FeS2

Sulfide; Iron disulfide, often with substantial amounts of nickel and cobalt

Color and Luster: Pale yellow to brass-yellow, often tarnished with brown fild of iron oxide; sometimes iridescent; metalic; streak greenish black

Hardness: 6-6.5

Cleavage: None

Fracture: Uneven, brittle

Crystals: Isometeric; predominantly in cubes and pyritohedrons with parallel striations of faces, less commonly in octahedrons; also in nodules and massive forms; fine to coarse granular, fibrous, mammillary, stalactitic



Note: Specimen donated by Lawrence H. Conklin

Photo by Mary Sutherland


Descriptions taken from
The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals