The Panola weekly star. (Sardis, Miss.) 1882-18??, 1885-05-23
IRON PYRlTGs.
some Interesting Facts About the Canstl.
tuition aud Use nt Tuut'r Cold.

some Interesting Facts About the Canstl.
tuition aud Use Ut rourr GuiL.
Pyritr, or iron pyr.los, Is one Of the
commonrst OF minerals, occurring n
rocks Of all geological age, from thu
oldest granite, 10 the newest slnlcs II
generally occurs in small cubic CRYSTALS
scattered irrcgulnrly through thu rocks,
but I, not uncommon In masses and
bcds ul considerable size. Among the
large number u mineral specimens
which come 10 the office of this paper.
with the Inquiry II they DO not contain
gold, copper, or some other valuable
substance, pyrilcs comprises the great
est 'SilcN.' in the JoHrHai ~ Com.
mcrcc tB0stonl, gigcS some interesting
facts about pyritcs, which IA likely To
interest considerable Of n number Of
our readers. Pyritns, or sulphido Of
iron, is composed Of about iity.thrcc
parts sulphur TO lorty-scvcn iron. It /,
u pale, sometimes bright. yellow miner.
nj, nearly rs hard ~ quartz and about
twice ~ heavy n quartz or granite. II
can be- but slightly scratched hy the
knife, is always Opaque, somewhat brit.
Tie, aud strikes fire readily with steel
The latter circumstance gave rise Ia it,
name. which is derived from q Greek
word for lire.
Pyrito very commonly occurs in
quartz veins with various metallic ores.
aud Is almost invariably found In gold
bearing quartz iuterminglcd with the
precious metal. Gold not uncnmmonly
occurs disseminated through the pyritr.
which Is then called anriicruus or gold.
bearing pNritc. Aconsidcrablc proper.
ton Of the yield Of gold Is obtained
from this variety.
Pyrito !, n VI the most changcablc
Of minerals, and when exposed 10 the
action OF the weather for a length of
time, as ut the out crop II n vein. il
dc%composcs, loses H. yellow color. and
becomes Of a rusty iron hue. changing
into non oxide The rustcdhoncycombcd
appearance Of much gold. bearing quartz
is due to the composition Of the pyrite
This liability 10 decomposition render,
all rocks containing much II this min.
cral unfit for building purposes where
beauty and durability ARE desired. The
yellow color Of pyritc has often led pco
pie to mistake Il for gold, and a great deal
Of money has at n time and another
been wasted In mining fools gold, A.
II Is often called. In the bclrf that II
was the precious metal. Gold i very
easily distinguished from pyrito, the only
resemblance being In the color. Gold
is n soft mineral, easily cut by a knife.
j. Of n deep yellow color. aud Is nearly
live times heavier than pyritc. How.
ever. ~ q small proportion Of gold !.
often presented In pyrite. Il Is always
well to ascertain by analysis Il enough
god Is there 10 pay for working.
Though pyrite contains nearly fifty
per cent II iron. Il Is never worked for
this metal. n Il can be- obtained much
moro chcaply and easily from other
ORES sulphur i sometimes obtained
from the mineral. but is principle uses
aru IN the manufacture Of clppefA. aud
sulphuric acid. II has not been mined
10 any great extent In this country. as
yet, for these purposes, though largely
used In England. Though pyritc %.
ours almost everywhere, there arr some
localities that afford q. unusually tine
specimens, as Watervillc. Me. Rowe.
Mass, and Roxhury. Conn. In New
England Fine specimens II crystal.
lied pyrilc arr found In many places
in the Middle and Western States. and
especially In Colorado - Ssisanfe
american