A pache gold, also known as “healer’s gold,” is a combination of pyrite and schist, that comes from the old copper mining town of Jerome, Arizona. For as far back as recorded history and beyond, everyone has found gold to be universally appealing. It’s often representative of the top standard of many achievements.
However, not all that glitters is gold! Yet, fool’s gold can still offer lapidaries good material to create something extremely elegant. The pyrite in black schist collaborates well with fool’s gold, creating a wonderful contrast that draws attention to an entire piece.
While Apache gold is getting a little scarce to find, it is still available through online dealers, and at shows. When buying this material, it may be wise to purchase as a slab since there’s no real way of knowing how much pyrite streamers you’ll find running through the center of the stone. There’s a good possibility a specimen may be mostly schist with very little pyrite. An additional pitfall to watch for when selecting material are large areas of pyrite on the outer edges. These areas tend to be extra soft and can easily crumble. I’d advise you not to look at the outer edges to be useful in your design, as most of the pyrite exposed on the outside of the stone will most likely be rendered useless. It’s what is on the inside that you want to work with.