Rainbow Pyrite

March 29, 2022

6FB61C25-FFDF-4A25-BCE6-40FE92AE2373

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.

 


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