Rocksday

Pyrrhotite

A bronze iron sulfide that is noticeably magnetic.

Pyrrhotite specimen
Photo: Robert M. Lavinsky, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How to identify pyrrhotite

  • Bronze-yellow, tarnishing brown.
  • Attracted to a magnet.
  • Softer than pyrite.

Often confused with

Where it's found

  • Sudbury, Ontario
  • Dalnegorsk, Russia
  • Santa Eulalia, Mexico

Uses

Mined with nickel ores.

Rock tumbling

Not suitable for tumbling.

Did you know?

Its name comes from Greek pyrrhos, 'flame-colored'.

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