3.1" Gleaming Cubic Pyrite with Quartz - Peru

This is a beautiful association containing a large pyrite crystal that sits adjacent to quartz crystals. It comes from the Huanzala Mine in Peru and the entire specimen measures 3.1" long by 2.3" wide. There are dark sphalerite crystals peppered throughout the specimen as well.

About Pyrite

The mineral pyrite, also known as iron pyrite, is commonly referred to as Fool's Gold because its metallic luster and pale brass-yellow hue give it a superficial resemblance to gold. In the old mining days, pyrite was sometimes mistaken for gold.

It is the most common of the sulfide minerals with the chemical formula FeS2. Pyrite crystals occur in many shapes and habits, including cubes of all sizes, penetration twin cubes, pyritohedral clusters and as small druzy crystals that can exhibit a beautiful glistening effect.

About Quartz

Quartz is the name given to silicon dioxide (SiO2) and is the second most abundant mineral in the Earth's crust. Quartz crystals generally grow in silica-rich environments--usually igneous rocks or hydrothermal environments like geothermal waters--at temperatures between 100°C and 450°C, and usually under very high pressure. In either case, crystals will precipitate as temperatures cool, just as ice gradually forms when water freezes. Quartz veins are formed when open fissures are filled with hot water during the closing stages of mountain formation: these veins can be hundreds of millions of years old.
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DETAILS
SPECIES
Pyrite & Quartz
LOCATION
Huanzala Mine, Bolognesi, Peru
SIZE
3.1" long, 2.3" wide
CATEGORY
SUB CATEGORY
ITEM
#72591