Crystal: Isometric - Pyritohedral
Hardness: 6 - 6.5
Sp.G.: 4.95 - 5.10
Cleavage: Indistinct
Fracture: Conchoidal - Uneven
Colour: Pale Brass Yellow
Lustre: Metallic, Splendent

The mineral pyrite, or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulphide minerl. Pyrite is the most abundant sulphide mineral. Pyrite's metallic lustre and pale brass-yellow hue give it a superficial resemblance to gold, hence the well-known nickname of fool's gold.

Pyrite is usually found associated with other sulfides or oxides in quartz veins, sedimentary rock, and metamorphic rock, as well as in coal beds and as a replacement mineral in fossils, but has also been identified in the sclerites of scaly-foot gastropods.

Despite being nicknamed "fool's gold", pyrite is sometimes found in association with small quantities of gold. A substantial proportion of the gold is "invisible gold" incorporated into the pyrite.

It has been suggested that the presence of both gold and arsenic is a case of coupled substitution but as of 1997 the chemical state of the gold remained controversial.

Pyrite gained a brief popularity in the 16th and 17th centuries as a source of ignition in early firearms, most notably the wheellock, where a sample of pyrite was placed against a circular file to strike the sparks needed to fire the gun.

Pyrite is used with flintstone and a form of tinder made of stringybark by the Kaurna people of South Australia, as a traditional method of starting fires.

Pyrite has been used since classical times to manufacture copperas (ferrous sulphate).

Iron pyrite was heaped up and allowed to weather (an example of an early form of heap leaching). The acidic runoff from the heap was then boiled with iron to produce iron sulfate. In the 15th century, new methods of such leaching began to replace the burning of sulfur as a source of sulfuric acid. By the 19th century, it had become the dominant method.

Pyrite remains in commercial use for the production of sulfur dioxide, for use in such applications as the paper industry, and in the manufacture of sulfuric acid. Thermal decomposition of pyrite into FeS (iron(II) sulfide) and elemental sulfur starts at 540ºC (1,004ºF); at around 700ºC (1,292ºF), pS2 is about 1 atm. Ref: Wikipedia

PYRITE is another highly protective stone, blocking or shielding one from negative energies. 

Metaphysical Healers say that,on the physical level, Pyrite can be used in the treatment and healing of all bone and cell diseases. 

It is said to stimulate the intellect, recalling information when one needs it the most.  Good for those of us who can be forgetful. A good protection against flu and the common cold. 

Zodiac: Leo