Pyrrhotite is the stable iron sulfide for oxygen fugacities fO 2 < FMQ (fayalite (FeSiO 4) ↔ magnetite + quartz), whereas paramagnetic pyrite (FeS 2) is dominant under the more oxidizing conditions in the Earth's crust (Lorand et al., 2005). Martian meteorites contain about as much pyrrhotite as magnetite.
