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The mineral pyrite (/ ˈ p aɪ r aɪ t / PY-ryte), [6] or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Fe S 2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral .
Permineralization is a process of fossilization of bones and tissues in which mineral deposits form internal casts of organisms. Carried by water, these minerals fill the spaces within organic tissue. Because of the nature of the casts, permineralization is particularly useful in studies of the internal structures of organisms, usually of ...
The first known use of the word "mineral" in the English language (Middle English) was the 15th century. The word came from Medieval Latin: minerale, from minera, mine, ore. [44] The word "species" comes from the Latin species, "a particular sort, kind, or type with distinct look, or appearance". [45]
After deposition, sediments are compacted as they are buried beneath successive layers of sediment and cemented by minerals that precipitate from solution. Grains of sediment, rock fragments and fossils can be replaced by other minerals (e.g. calcite, siderite, pyrite or marcasite) during diagenesis.
Fossil skeletal parts from extinct belemnite cephalopods of the Jurassic – these contain mineralized calcite and aragonite.. Biomineralization, also written biomineralisation, is the process by which living organisms produce minerals, [a] often resulting in hardened or stiffened mineralized tissues.
Extremophiles known as acidophiles especially favor the low pH levels of abandoned mines. In particular, Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans is a key contributor to pyrite oxidation. [5] Metal mines may generate highly acidic discharges where the ore is a sulfide mineral or is associated with pyrite.
The group is named for its most common member, pyrite (fool's gold), which is sometimes explicitly distinguished from the group's other members as iron pyrite. Pyrrhotite (magnetic pyrite) is magnetic, and is composed of iron and sulfur , but it has a different structure and is not in the pyrite group.
The Mg is soluble in water and is carried in the runoff, but the Fe often reacts with oxygen to precipitate Fe 2 O 3 , the oxidized state of iron oxide. Sulfur, a byproduct of decaying organic material, will also react with iron to form pyrite (FeS 2) in reducing environments.