Pyrite - Natural Cubic Crystalline Macle - Minerals

Superb natural twin of 3 pyrite cubes, or “Fool’s Gold”.

During the Gold Rush of the 19th century, many people mistook pyrite for gold because of its metallic shine.

Authentic crystal. Very pretty shine.

Origin : Navajun (Spain) Clay rocks contain a high content of sulphides, which crystallize in the form of pyrite. In the quarries exploited today, these crystals are extracted from the surrounding clays.

Dimensions : Height of the twinned crystal: approximately 3.4 cm / edge of the largest cube: 15 mm.

Presented on a square plexiglass base (3 cm side).

Mineralogy : With a cubic crystalline structure, pyrite is made up of iron and sulfur atoms, called “iron disulfide” (FeS2). For what ? Because the atomic association forms a cubic mesh, repeating itself millions of millions of times, to obtain a perfect cube visible to the naked eye.
The twin is a natural association of crystals, an outgrowth on a pre-existing pyrite crystal. This is explained by an interruption in the growth of the father crystal, then a resumption of the growth of a daughter crystal from a nucleus of the father crystal.

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