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pyrite - a fool's gold

all that glitters is not gold...
With its brassy golden yellow color, pyrite is often mistaken for gold.

pyrite specimen

A favorite among rock collectors, pyrite is by far the most common of the shiny brassy yellow minerals, and it is certainly the one with the highest disappointment factor.
However gold and pyrite are quite different and it is not that difficult to differentiate between the tow. Pyrite is distinguished from gold by its streak and powder: pyrite's streak is greenish-black and its powder is black or grayish while gold streaks gold and its powder is gold. Pyrite is also harder than gold.
Important commercially as a source of sulfur, when pyrite is melted, the iron and sulfur in it separates. The resulting sulfur is used to make sulfuric acid, the kind of acid in car batteries.

symbolic attributes

metaphysical
energy projective / yang
planet Mars
element fire