Pyrite and Baryte
| ID | 343 | |
|---|---|---|
| Mineral |
Pyrite
Baryte |
|
| Location | Oumjrane mining area - Alnif - Draa-Tafilalet - Morocco | |
| Fluorescence | LW-UV: close SW-UV: close |
|
| Mindat.org |
View Pyrite information at mindat.org View Baryte information at mindat.org |
|
Mindat data
| ID | 3314 |
|---|---|
| Long ID | 1:1:3314:1 |
| Formula |
FeS2
|
| IMA Status |
0 1 |
| Other Occurrences | Common in many rock types, igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary. |
| Diapheny | Opaque |
| Cleavage | Indistinct on {001}. |
| Tenacity | brittle |
| Colour | Pale brass-yellow |
| Hardness (min) | 6.0 |
| Hardness (max) | 6.5 |
| About the name | Named in antiquity from the Greek "pyr" for "fire", because sparks flew from it when struck with another mineral or metal. Known to Dioscorides (~50 CE) under the name "περι υληζ ιατρικηζ" which included both pyrite and chalcopyrite. |
| Streak | Greenish-black |
| Crystal System | Isometric |
| Cleavage Type | Poor/Indistinct |
| Fracture type | Irregular/Uneven,Conchoidal |
| Morphology | Typically cubic or pyritohedral (pentagonal dodecahedral), sometimes octahedral and combinations are common, resulting in striated faces. Less frequently octahedral, most commonly massive, granular, and sometimes radiating, reniform, discoidal or globular. |
| Twinning | On [110], interpenetrating ('Iron Cross Law'). Twin axis [001] and twin plane {011}, penetration and contact twins. Twinning on (111) was described by Nicol (1904), Goldschmidt and Nicol (1904) and Gaubert (1928), all of whom considered it rare. |
| UV | Not fluorescent in UV |
| Thermal Behaviour | Heated in a closed tube gives a sublimate of sulfur and a magnetic residue. |
| shortcode_ima | Py |
| Group | Pyrite Group |
| ID | 549 |
|---|---|
| Long ID | 1:1:549:0 |
| Formula |
Ba(SO4)
|
| IMA Status |
0 1 |
| Other Occurrences | Commonly found as a gangue mineral in metallic ore deposits of epithermal or mesothermal origin; but it may also be found as lenses or replacement deposits in sedimentary rocks, both of hypogene and supergene origin. |
| Industrial | Used as an additive in drilling fluids, as a white pigment, e. g. in cosmetic products and in paints, and as a filling material for polymers and papers, high contrast medium for medical X-rays. Also the main source of barium. |
| Diapheny | Transparent,Translucent,Opaque |
| Cleavage | Perfect on {001}; less so on {210}; Imperfect on {010}. |
| Tenacity | brittle |
| Colour | Colourless, white, yellow, brown, grey, blue, etc.; colourless in transmitted light (also tinted yellow, brown, green, blue, etc.) |
| Hardness (min) | 3.0 |
| Hardness (max) | 3.0 |
| Luminescence | Fluoresces yellows, orange, or pink in LW; phophsphoresces strongly greenish-white. |
| Lustre | Vitreous to Resinous, Pearly on cleavage surfaces. |
| About the name | Named in 1800 by Dietrich Ludwig Gustav Karsten from the Greek βαρύς, heavy, due to its unusual heaviness for a non-metallic mineral. |
| Streak | white |
| Crystal System | Orthorhombic |
| Cleavage Type | Perfect |
| Fracture type | Irregular/Uneven |
| Morphology | Usually thin to thick tabular {001}, bounded by {210} alone or in combination with {101}, {011} or other forms. Also flattened {001}, and elongated to prismatic [010] or [100]. More rarely prismatic [001], or equant. Often as aggregates or clusters of tabular crystals with edges projecting into crest-like forms, or as rosettes. Also found as massive material, compact, laminated or concretionary; and in fibrous, stalactic, and earthy masses. |
| UV | Shades of yellow, occasionally orange or pink (LW UV). Shades of yellow, white (Franklin & Sterling Hill, NJ). May phosphoresce strongly greenish-white. |
| Thermal Behaviour | Inverts to another (monoclinic?) polymorph when heated to 1149°C. Above 1400°C decomposition to barium oxide, sulphur dioxide and oxygen. Thermoluminescent at times. |
| Comment Luster | Vitreous to Resinous, Pearly on cleavage surfaces. |
| key_elements |
0 |
| shortcode_ima | Brt |
| Group | Baryte Group |
Details
Price: € 550
Dimensions: Not registered
Weight: 4759 g
Visibile in overview:
Notes:
| Symbol | Element | |
|---|---|---|
| Ba | Barium | |
| Fe | Iron | |
| O | Oxygen | |
| S | Sulfur |



