oldguy Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Pyrite is brittle and was mined for its sulfur content through WWII. Just curious if anyone ever crushed & balled milled some pyrite, for any type pyro use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 iron pyrite looks great and could possibly be used in a glitter style composition other than decoration or maybe glitters I see no use (other than a sulfide source for making other sulfides) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSM Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Pyrite is brittle and was mined for its sulfur content through WWII. Just curious if anyone ever crushed & balled milled some pyrite, for any type pyro use? Many years ago I met a fellow from Canada at a PGI Convention who had a formula for glitter based on iron pyrite. He even sent me a sample of the pyrite to try. WSM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldguy Posted February 14, 2011 Author Share Posted February 14, 2011 (edited) Cool, I know of a couple big old local mine dumps that are full of large chunks of solid iron pyrite.Unoxidized samples I gathered up last summer had a very strong sulfer and/or sulfide odor about it.I had some assayed, but only for valuable metals. It ran 3% copper, a couple ounces of silver & fair trace of gold per ton.I will gather up a few buckets full as soon as the snow is off & fool around with it. Edited February 14, 2011 by oldguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Cool, I know of a couple big old local mine dumps that are full of large chunks of solid iron pyrite.Unoxidized samples I gathered up last summer had a very strong sulfer and/or sulfide odor about it.I had some assayed, but only for valuable metals. It ran 3% copper, a couple ounces of silver & fair trace of gold per ton.I will gather up a few buckets full as soon as the snow is off & fool around with it. sounds like there might have been some acidic water running onto it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DasSchaben Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Many years ago I met a fellow from Canada at a PGI Convention who had a formula for glitter based on iron pyrite. He even sent me a sample of the pyrite to try. WSM, you wouldn't happen to have that formula, would you? Anyone who tries this, keep us updated. I have chunks of this stuff that I want to get rid of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peret Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 I have a chunk of pyrite. I don't think I want to crush it, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 WSM, you wouldn't happen to have that formula, would you? Anyone who tries this, keep us updated. I have chunks of this stuff that I want to get rid of.it shouldnt be to hard to work it into a formula send em my way thats beautiful Peret Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 As a first thought it shouldn't be a strange component chem, I wonder how closely similar it is to Antimony trisulphide? Yes I can see some issues with crushing an ornamental or decorative piece but if "OldGuy" has a source for just digging....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightHawkInLight Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 I would love to give it a try in a few comps, but I wouldn't want to put too much work in without knowing my results were not due to contamination. If the raw material from the ground can be easily purified I'm very interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Being a polysulfide, it's not the easiest to purify. You can probably crush it and wash it, but more traditional forms of purification are typically out of the question. I'll check in Pyrotechnica tonight. I thought either Winokur's or Shimizu's studies on glitter tested this compound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Reading the Wiki page saying that it can leach sulphate by bio decomposition then there would be cautions in it's use which may counterindicate chlorate mixes but then if you could keep it dry.... Apparently Nevada pyrite can contain 0.37% gold so I wouldn't burn that, more extract it first! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peret Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 Apparently Nevada pyrite can contain 0.37% gold so I wouldn't burn that, more extract it first! It often does - one indication for gold is a rusty iron stain on the rocks where pyrite has weathered away. The Tombstone deposits were discovered that way. It turned out to be mostly silver, but the upper layers of quartz had cubic cavities where pyrite had dissolved, leaving bits of free gold behind in the holes. Pyrite does dissolve slowly in carbonic acid (CO2 dissolved in water) and produce sulfuric or sulfurous acid. That shouldn't be a problem in a dry composition, but I still wouldn't mix it with a chlorate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSM Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 (edited) WSM, you wouldn't happen to have that formula, would you? Anyone who tries this, keep us updated. I have chunks of this stuff that I want to get rid of. GOLD GLITTER, PYRITE 8-11- 89 Ken Green 52 KNO312 AF 6 S 12 pyrite 100m 8 Al, atomized 5 NaHCO3 5 dextrin +1 H3BO3 If you try this formula, share the results with everyone here. Thanks. (and if you know Ken Green, Thank him for the formula) WSM Edited February 16, 2011 by WSM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peret Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 GOLD GLITTER, PYRITE Noted, thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldguy Posted February 16, 2011 Author Share Posted February 16, 2011 While it seems back-ass-wards, the more I learn about pyro comp’s & how the numerous ingredients function. I realize how little I know & how much more I need to learn to get just the basics down to where I am at least slightly competent with them. Today reading about glitter comp’s, I noted the use of antimony trisulfide & thought I would order a couple lbs to give it a try. Then hells bells realized that is stibnite. A light goes on in my feeble memory cells & off to the back shed I go, rummage through crates of ore samples & mineral specimens I have collected over the years. Finally find a big box of baseball sized high grade stibnite samples I gathered up 2 years back from a little central Idaho mine a good buddy of mine owns. So, I don’t have to order any. Also realized, given the per pound price, since I am going to be in central Idaho this summer anyway, near that same mine. I’m going to gather a few hundred lbs more & drag home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeroberts Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 I'll be watching this thread. I have a friend who knows a hillside where pyrite can be freely scraped out of the dirt in respectable quantities. If it has good effect I'd be interested to use it. Otherwise I'll just stick to more common or traditional compositions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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