Pyrite

Pyrite Latest News

Scientists recently discovered the oldest-known evidence of fire-making by prehistoric humans in England, which included a patch of heated clay, some heat-shattered flint handaxes, and two pieces of iron pyrite – a mineral that creates sparks when struck against flint to ignite tinder.

About Pyrite

• It is a brass-yellow mineral with a bright metallic luster. 
• It has a chemical composition of iron sulfide (FeS2), and is the most common sulfide mineral. 
• The name comes from the Greek word pyr, “fire,” because pyrite emits sparks when struck by metal.
• Nodules of pyrite have been found in prehistoric burial mounds, which suggests their use as a means of producing fire. 
• Pyrite is called “Fool’s Gold” because it resembles gold to the untrained eye.
  • However, pyrite is quite easy to distinguish from gold: pyrite is much lighter but harder than gold and cannot be scratched with a fingernail or pocket knife.
• It is found in a wide variety of geological formations worldwide, from sedimentary deposits to hydrothermal veins and as a constituent of metamorphic rocks.

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Pyrite Uses

• It is a source of iron and sulfur and is used for the production of sulfuric acid. 
• It is used to create iron sulfate that is used to make nutritional supplements, ink, lawn conditioner, water treatment and flocculation, moss killer, and many other chemical processes.  
• Iron sulfate, which comes from pyrite, is used to treat iron-deficiency anemia.  
• Some types of pyrite contain enough microscopic gold to warrant mining them as a gold ore.

Source: REUT