Gold or Fool’s Gold?

At first glance, gold and fool’s gold are easily mistaken by new prospectors. Fool’s gold —also known as iron pyrite, an iron sulfide — is brittle and far less valuable then real gold. To tell the two apart, a magnifying lens helps. The fool’s gold will have hard edges, so look for tiny cube shapes or prisms. Fool’s gold is coloured more like brass, while real gold is more like butter dripped into the rock. As a quick test in the field, see if you can get out a tiny sample. Whack it with a hammer. If it shatters, it’s fool’s gold. If it squats, but doesn’t break into dust and tiny pieces, make a claim ASAP (you can do it online).