[Rockhounds] Pyrite disease

[DonH]

OnyxCollector at aol.com wrote:
> Don't put it in Iron Out  like I did once..... the whole specimen crumbled  
> apart.


Yikes!  It definitely got all the iron out!

Pete, I've always used sudsy ammonia to clean them, soak them in 
distilled water, then oven-dry at VERY low heat.  I've only had to do 
that a few times.

Funny how some pyrite disintegrates and some never does...  I know this 
has been discussed before...  I think there have also been articles on 
the subject over the years, in venues like Rocks & Minerals and 
Mineralogical Record perhaps?

Anyone remember those huge, lustrous, perfect pyrite cubes that were 
coming out of a locality in Spain a few years ago?  I got one or two of 
them, since they were "must have" specimens for the species.  I forget 
the exact locality, but the last time I checked mine, they were still in 
perfect shape.  But I have seen at leat two pyrites, owned by other 
people, that turned to dust over time and the labels and boxes were 
eaten away.  Really.

The iron sulfides from the famous amber locality, Sayreville, NJ, are 
notorious for disintegrating very soon upon collecting them.  They have 
been in a wet, acidic solution for ages, and taking them out allows the 
decay process to start.  Fortunately, they are not very pretty anyway, 
and most people are just after either the amber or the preserved plant 
materials.


best,
Don