In the case of pyrite, the cubic system favors the formation of sharply defined cubes due to its atomic bonding patterns.

Navigating through multiple splits and slippery paths, we encounter large, rusted remnants of industrial equipment and clusters of pyrite cubes embedded in the rock and scattered across the ground.

A section through a cube of gold perched on a grain of pyrite now included in quartz. A similar photo of the same area taken by student Stephen Knipe was included in New Scientist magazine in 1991.