4.4" Marcasite Crystal Cluster on Druzy Quartz - Morocco

This is an aggregation of marcasite crystals that formed over a druzy quartz encrusted matrix, collected from the Oumjrane area of Morocco. It comes with an acrylic display stand.

Marcasite is an iron sulfide mineral with the chemical formula FeS2. It is similar to pyrite in both its chemical composition and appearance, but it forms an entirely different crystal structure and is much more reactive to humidity. It is often found within sedimentary rock and hydrothermal deposits, and at one point was used for its sulfur content.

Quartz is the name given to silicon dioxide (SiO2) and is the second most abundant mineral in the Earth's crust. Quartz crystals generally grow in silica-rich environments--usually igneous rocks or hydrothermal environments like geothermal waters--at temperatures between 100°C and 450°C, and usually under very high pressure. In either case, crystals will precipitate as temperatures cool, just as ice gradually forms when water freezes. Quartz veins are formed when open fissures are filled with hot water during the closing stages of mountain formation: these veins can be hundreds of millions of years old.


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DETAILS
SPECIES
Marcasite & Quartz
LOCATION
Oumjrane area, Morocco
SIZE
4.4" wide
CATEGORY
ITEM
#137145