Gold is sectile and malleable. This refers to the style of crystal growth. Gold can have many different habits including reticulated, branching, platy, filiform, spongy and massive. Form Gold has an isometric crystal system . In this system all three crystallographic axes are of equal lengths and at right angles to one another.
Gold often forms octaheral, dodecahedral and cubic crystals.
The mineral pyrite can often appear very similar to gold. Despite their outward similarities, gold can be distinguished from pyrite easily by its streak. While gold's streak is the same as its color, pyrite has a greenish-black streak. Color and sectility can also be used to distinguish gold from pyrite. Occurance Gold primarily occurs in lode deposits.