How to identify Pyrite

To correctly identify Pyrite (Pyrite), check each of these features in order. Many rocks and minerals look alike, so cross-reference multiple properties before deciding.

Step-by-step identification

1. 1

   Color

   Overall color and any zoning or banding

   Pale brass-yellow to golden-yellow, often tarnishing to a duller, darker yellow or brown.

2. 2

   Luster

   How the surface reflects light: metallic, vitreous, dull

   Splendent metallic.

3. 3

   Texture

   Grain size and surface feel: coarse, fine, glassy

   Typically forms well-defined crystals (cubes, octahedra, pyritohedra) or massive, granular, or radiating aggregates. Surfaces can be striated.

4. 4

   Crystal Form

   Shape of visible crystals or crystal faces

   Cubic (most common), octahedral, pyritohedral, or combinations. Also massive, granular, reniform, or stalactitic.

5. 5

   Cleavage

   How it breaks: flat cleavage planes vs irregular fracture

   Poor to indistinct on {001}. Typically fractures rather than cleaves.

6. 6

   Geological Environment

   The rock formation and setting where it occurs

   Found in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. Common in hydrothermal veins, contact metamorphic deposits, black shales, coal seams, and as concretions in sedimentary rocks. Often associated with other sulfide minerals, quartz, and carbonates.

Key Facts

Hardness

6-6.5 on the Mohs scale

Specific Gravity

4.95-5.10 g/cm³

Crystal System

Isometric (Cubic)

Color

Pale brass-yellow, golden-yellow

Luster

Metallic

Transparency

Opaque

Fracture

Conchoidal to uneven

Cleavage

Poor to indistinct on {001}

Composition

Iron sulfide (FeS2)

Physical characteristics

• Crystal Habit: Cubic, octahedral, pyritohedral, massive, granular, radiating, stalactitic, reniform. Cube faces often striated.
• Cleavage Type: Poor to indistinct, typically fractures.
• Fracture Type: Conchoidal to uneven.
• Tenacity: Brittle.
• Luster Type: Splendent metallic.

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