Pyrite: Difference between revisions

Pyrite is a mineral belonging to the pyrite group.  Pyrite is a very common mineral found in many different formations of rock.  Pyrite has a similar color to [[gold]], so many in the past have confused it to being gold and now the most common name of pyrite is fool's gold.  Pyrite is easily distinguishable from gold though, gold can be scratched with a fingernail, where as pyrite is much harder and will not be scratched with a fingernail.  Also, pyrite is much lighter than gold.  Pyrite got its name from the Greek word "pyr", which means fire.  The reason pyrite got its name from this Greek word is because when pyrite is stricken against metal it sparks.  Pyrite contains mostly Iron and Sulfur, but it may contain other elements such as [[cobalt]], [[nickel]], [[lead]], gold, and [[arsenic]], but these other elements in only small amounts.<ref name=mindat/>