PYRITE AND CALCITE. ...

Description

PYRITE AND CALCITE
Pasto Bueno District, Pallasca Province, Ancash Department, Peru
Pyrite: Iron Sulfide, is commonly found in many ore bodies that have been mined over the centuries all over the world. Crystals are common, but they are typically: small, damaged, incomplete; or they possess 'sub-optimal' luster. Representing the other end of that criteria spectrum is the giant example seen here. Product of the same remote and harsh neighborhood as the Rhodochrosite on Huebnerite in Lot # 49059, Pyrite is part of the ore minerals that provide Copper, Silver, Lead and Zinc to the factories of the modern world. The miners here work under some of the most grueling conditions to be found anywhere on the globe, and they supplement their meager wages by selling mineral specimens in their spare time: no doubt the source of this majestic piece. Under bright lights the brassy metallic luster would be blinding were it not for the thousands of fine, parallel striations decorating the faces of crystals up to 3 inches (7.6 cm) across, while scattering light in all directions. The form of the crystal is a mix of cubic and pyritohedral with cubic the predominant form. Movement during the growth of the Pyrite fractured two of the crystals but Nature filled the fracture with the same colorless Calcite that surrounds and outlines the Pyrite with tooth-like, scalenohedral forms. In excellent condition, this brilliantly metallic natural sculpture measures 10½ x 9½ x 4½ inches (26.7 x 24.1 x 11.4 cm) and has a custom labeled base.

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