Mineral: Pyrite with Hematite
Locality: Rio Mine (Rio Marina Mine), Valle Giove stope, Rio Marina, Elba Island, Livorno Province, Tuscany, Italy
Dimensions: 25 x 13 x 17.5 cm / main crystal: 7.5 cm

Description: Mass: 9950 g MIM number: 1601 Probable year of extraction : 2013 Large mass of black lamellar hematite studded with lustrous crystals of pentagonal dodecahedra shaped pyrite. In the center of the sample is a well formed 7.5 cm wide "iron cross" twin resulting from the 90 degrees overlapping of two dodecahedra. It is surprising to see in the same sample equilibrium domains where sulfur can give compounds in its least oxidized state (as in pyrite, FeS2), and where, simultaneously, iron has its highest degree of oxidation (as in hematite, Fe2O3). The deposits of the island of Elba and of Tuscany constitute the basis of the Etruscan iron industry and are thus at the origin of one of the oldest civilizations that used iron. Photographer: AINU / Augustin de Valence

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