Fool’s Gold may actually be more valuable than we realized

[Still Waters]

The glittering golden hue of a cracked lump of pyrite gives false promises of riches for a rock that’s not really all that valuable – but a new announcement suggests there could be more to “fool’s gold” than meets the eye. Pyrite sampled from the United States was found to contain a surprising amount of the chemical element lithium (Li), something the world is in dire need of if we’re going to fuel the battery revolution.

Pyrite's association with lithium “is unheard of” said Shailee Bhattacharya, a sedimentary geochemist and doctoral student working with Professor Shikha Sharma in the IsoBioGeM Lab at West Virginia University, in a statement. They will present their team’s findings at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly 2024.

https://www.iflscience.com/fools-gold-may-actually-be-more-valuable-than-we-realized-73822