Pyrite

Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide on Earth and the species that gave us the term "fool's gold." For collectors, the Shangbao Mine in Hunan is the modern reference: brassy cubes and pyritohedra of remarkable size and luster, often perched on milky quartz with selective overgrowth of orange calcite.

Key Facts

• Mohs hardness 6-6.5 – scratches glass.
• Specific gravity 5.0 – heavy for a sulfide.
• Striae on cube faces are diagnostic – true to the cubic-pyritohedral combination.
• Suffers "pyrite disease" oxidation in humid storage; keep dry.
• Hunan (Shangbao, Huanggangzhai) sets the international benchmark.

Notable Varieties

• Marcasite (orthorhombic FeS2 polymorph)
• Bravoite (Ni-rich variety)

The Chinese Angle

Shangbao Mine produces the worldwide reference for Chinese pyrite – cubes 5-15 cm with mirror-bright faces, often in three-species combinations with quartz and orange calcite. The Huanggangzhai pyrite, by contrast, runs to pyritohedral habit and is sometimes mistaken for distinct species.

Available Products of Pyrite

14 available specimens — showing 12 random

Crystal and Pyrite Geode, Yaogangxian Mine, China

Pyrite Crystal – Druzy Form – Daye Mine, Huangshi, Hubei

Pyrite Cubic Crystal with Columnar Form, Spain

Pyrite and Calcite Crystal Cluster, Daye, Hubei, China

Pyrite on Dolomite Matrix – Hunan, China

Pyrite with Chalcopyrite, Hubei

Pyrite Cluster – Raw Cubic Crystals on Matrix – Spain

Pyrite, Quartz and Fluorite Crystal – Fujian, China

Pyrite Crystal Cluster on Calcite – Tonglushan Mine, Daye

Petal Calcite and Pyrite Crystal Cluster – Fujian, China

Cubic Pyrite Cluster – Mirror Faces – Navajún, La Rioja, Spain

Pyrite and Quartz Cluster – Golden Cubic Crystals – Spain