Pyrite (ps after Marcasite)

This miniature specimen features a single, sharply defined pyrite blade pseudomorph after marcasite, a crystal habit distinctive to this region and its local mineralogical processes. One face displays a bright, shimmering brassy pyrite surface, while the reverse is lightly coated with dolomite. A fine and characteristic example of this classic pseudomorph, and an excellent miniature representative of the locality.

The specimen comes from the Nanisivik Mine on northern Baffin Island, roughly 750 km north of the Arctic Circle, one of the world’s most northerly operating base-metal mines. Active from 1976 until its closure in 2002, Nanisivik produced zinc and lead from Mississippi Valley–type mineralization hosted in dolostone. Today, the mine is legendary among collectors for its distinctive and often beautifully crystallized specimens, making examples such as this increasingly scarce and highly desirable.