The Gold of the Idiots

Author: pnjunction2007. Source: Flickr.
The pyrite (FeS2, or ferrous sulfide) is one of the most common iron ores. Since the iron is an essential component of the earth's crust, we can find pyrite in any part of the world. It exists also in a big variety of forms, between which they emphasize for his beauty the buckets (like that of the photo) and the pentadodecaedros (polyhedrons of 12 pentagonal faces), more acquaintances like "piritoedros".
Although they it do not believe this mineral it does not have any value any more than esthetic; it is so in the antiquity it has brought uncertainties to many keen explorers and incautious miners who were thinking about having gained the lottery finding gold, hence the " name "from the idiots". In spite of this, the pyrite keeps on being very popular between the collectors of minerals, who tend to look for the most perfect or stranger forms.
Now then, there exist varieties of pyrite that can contain gold in very small quantities (auriferous pyrite), by what in mining they are used like indicators for the golden exploration. Nevertheless, for the mining industry the pyrite commonly is more a problem than a benefit; and the fact is that by his value lack this mineral is rejected, going to stop to re-wash (batteries of mining garbage), where it oxidizes and lately it generates the unwanted acidic, extremely harmful drainage for the environment. Happily nowadays methods exist to prepare and also to mitigate this damage.
In spite of everything, the pyrite will never stop attracting the curiosity of insiders and outsiders. If they want to enjoy more images of this popular mineral, I recommend to them to visit the galleries of Flickr or of Wikimedia Commons.
This entry has been updated and published in parallel in the portal e-ciencia.com
More news on minerals in Mineralogy.
Blogalaxia Tags: mineral pyrite fotos+de+pirita marcasita piritoedro oro+de+los+tontos
--Thanks for reading the MiGeo feed: http://www.migeo.pe/ Torrent Til Death S04E21 The Wedding free