Rainbow Pyrite
March 29, 2022
Photographer: Allen Steinburg
Summary Author: Allen Steinburg
Rainbow pyrite is the trade name for Pyrite Druzy and a non-Quartz species of gemstone. These colorful rock specimens are valued for their rainbow-like iridescence caused by differential refraction and diffraction of light. Historically, this metallic looking rock was extracted in Russia, however, the former 1870 abandoned Shipman pyrite mine in Ontario, Canada is proving to be another source for rainbow pyrite along with uncommonly large octahedral pyrite crystals. Photo taken on November 10, 2021.