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Chalcopyrite with Quartz

Bruce Museum Collection 2019.4.23 Gift of Robert R. Wiener

Chalcopyrite differs from the more familiar iron pyrite (“fool’s gold”) due to the inclusion of copper. It resembles gold in color and luster, but is much harder. Chalcopyrite is mined commercially as a copper ore, but specimens with tetragonal (pyramid-like) crystals such as this example are also prized by collectors.

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