[meteorite-list] Odd Rock - Is it...?? Pyrite Plus

From: Charles Viau <cviau_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:17:39 2004
Message-ID: <000001c3bbb6$c5d309d0$1800a8c0_at_chupa>

That site with the bogus meteorite has more bogus baggage. If you were
not running spybot or another active anti-spy filter on your computer
and you accessed that geocities site, you now have a sinister piece of
spyware on your system that not only eats up some of your cpu time, but
reports what web sites you access back to them. You will need spybot or
similar to remove it.

CharlyV

-----Original Message-----
From: meteorite-list-admin_at_meteoritecentral.com
[mailto:meteorite-list-admin_at_meteoritecentral.com] On Behalf Of E.J
Sent: Friday, December 05, 2003 6:08 AM
To: MexicoDoug_at_aol.com; meteorite list
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Odd Rock - Is it...?? Pyrite Plus

MexicoDoug_at_aol.com wrote:

>
> http://www.geocities.com/sstelenes/rocks.html
>
> The above link is a page with three photos and a description of an odd

> "stone" from Mexico.

Welcome to the list Doug.

Thanks for posting the photos and providing size data.

The "gunmetal gray" would ordinarily suggest Galena an ore of lead which

weathers to a white ashy luster. However, the crystal habit doesn't
match. It is not Galena (Pb lead) or, Fluorite(Ca F), nor is it a
silicate(Si O).

My impression is that it is an Iron Sulfide in the Pyrite class(Fe S)--
there are several variants. We normally think of Pyrite as coming in
cubes but when it is extensively twinned and intergrown like this
specimen, it can look like it has triangular crystal faces. When you
truncate( chop off) the corner of a cube it forms a triangle.

Otherwise-- but unlikely, this could be a "psuedomorph". That is--
another mineral replaces an original crystallized mineral after the
pattern of the original form. In fact on some of the faces I see a hint

of Hematite which is an Iron Oxide. The reverse appears to be
mineralized with Hematite and Limonite(yellow colored) which is is a
"hydrated " Iron oxide. Limonite is an amorphous catch-all mineral name

for the residue left from decomposition of other Iron minerals.

All considered, I believe this is a slightly weathered iron pyrite
crystal cluster, aka Fools Gold. It doesn't have the normal brassy
pyrite color because of the Hematite coating. Not uninteresting but,
not a meteorite as you already know.

Tis another case of anything strange" must be a meteorite" and is a
common meteorwrong theme.

Regards,
Elton


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Received on Sat 06 Dec 2003 12:06:51 AM PST