Pyrite

specimen number:
2102364

location:
Buick Mine, Viburnum Trend, Iron Co., Missouri, USA

description:
Lustrous golden crystals of pyrite measuring to 2.4 cm on edge across the top of matrix. From the 1990s. This is in good condition.

The Buick mine, situated near the community of Boss in Iron County, Missouri, was a massive underground mining and smelting operation located within the northern portion of the world-famous Viburnum Trend, also known as the New Lead Belt. Geologically, the deposit is a classic Mississippi Valley-type lead-zinc system localized within the upper Cambrian Bonneterre Formation, where mineralizing fluids replaced microbial reef structures, dolostones, and breccias flanking the buried Precambrian St. Francois Mountain crystalline basement complex. The primary ore minerals consist of massive aggregates of galena, sphalerite, and chalcopyrite, which precipitated alongside secondary marcasite, pyrite, and dolomite along distinct structural lineaments. Historically, the deep deposit was discovered in the early 1960s during regional exploratory drilling, leading to a joint venture between Amax Lead Company and Homestake Mining Company to sink twin production shafts and construct a major mill and lead smelter. Modern mechanized room-and-pillar extraction officially commenced in 1969, with the operation later transitioning fully to the Doe Run Company in 1986, which consolidated the site into its extensive regional mineral portfolio. The Buick mine operated as a global powerhouse of lead production for more than four decades until the depletion of its core high-grade ore reserves led to the permanent cessation of underground extraction and the sealing of the shafts in 2013, though portions of the surface infrastructure continue to support regional recycling efforts through 2026.

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