Pyrite Crystal Cluster — Nanisivik Mine, Baffin Island, Nunavut

A hand-sized cluster of pyrite from one of the Arctic's most storied mineral localities. The Nanisivik Mine, situated 750 km north of the Arctic Circle on Baffin Island, operated from 1976–2002 as a zinc-lead producer, but among collectors it's remembered for something else entirely: pyrite crystals with a level of complex, highly modified crystal habit rarely seen anywhere else on Earth. Permafrost kept the underground vugs ice-filled year-round, and specimens had to be collected with ice picks and thawed gradually at surface — a process that preserved crystal faces most mines destroy in the extraction process.

This piece shows the classic combination of cubic, octahedral, dodecahedral, and pyritohedral faces the locality is known for, with a bright brassy luster and sharp, well-defined crystal terminations. Nanisivik is closed and has been for over two decades — material like this isn't being replaced.

Specimen Details

Approx specimen weight (g): 746 grams

Approx. specimen size (mm): 100mm x 80mm x 55mm