Pyrite on Hematite

Pyrite – FeS2
Elements: Iron, Sulfur
Class: Sulfides
Crystal System: Cubic
Hardness: 6-6.5
Orthoclase
Talc (1)Diamond (10)
Scratches glass. Harder than a steel knife.
Hematite – Fe2O3
Elements: Iron, Oxygen
Class: Oxides
Crystal System: Trigonal
Hardness: 5.5-6.5
Orthoclase
Talc (1)Diamond (10)
Scratches glass. Harder than a steel knife.
Origin: Rio Marina, Elba Island, Tuscany – Italy History: Ex Whitemore Collection
Did you know?

Pyrite is the original fool's gold, brassy enough to fool generations of prospectors. The irony is that real gold often hides inside it, locked invisibly in the crystal, which makes pyrite a true source of the very metal it once impersonated.

Hematite is named from the Greek for blood, and it keeps the secret well: a silvery or black specimen, scratched or powdered, leaves a vivid blood-red streak.