Most people have heard of pyrite the brassy yellow mineral sometimes known as fools gold pyrite behaves like stone and shines like metal and its dual nature makes it a source of both metals and sulfur despite being the most common sulfide mineral on the earths surface pyrites bright crystals have attracted the attention of many different cultures and its nearly identical visual appearance to gold has led to tales of fraud trickery and claims of alchemy pyrite occupies a unique . Most commonly it is thought of in relation to the gold coloured mineral pyrite and geochemist david rickard delves into the minerals role throughout human history in pyrite a natural history . Most people have heard of pyrite the brassy yellow mineral commonly known as fools gold but despite being the most common sulfide on the earths surface pyrites bright crystals have attracted. Most people have heard of pyrite the brassy yellow mineral sometimes known as fools gold pyrite behaves like stone and shines like metal and its dual nature makes it a source of both metals and sulfur despite being the most common sulfide mineral on the earths surface pyrites bright crystals have attracted the attention of many different cultures and its nearly identical visual