Hematite, it's Pretty Spectacular!

     Hematite is an iron oxide mineral that is used as an iron ore. Hematite is often red or reddish brown in color, but it can also be silvery-gray or black with a metallic luster. All hematite is opaque (it does not allow light to pass through it) Hematite crystals are hexagonal (six-sided) and flat. Hematite is also found as massive pieces (in mineral terms the term “massive” refers to a shapeless mass that is made of many tiny crystals), earthy chunks, and reniform masses. The word reniform means kidney-shaped. Reniform hematite is often called “kidney ore.” Shiny hematite is known as “specular hematite.” Hematite can also be iridescent, that is to say that light makes a rainbow-colored pattern when reflecting off of its surface. Hematite crystals are also known to grow in rose-shaped clusters, which are called “iron rose.” Hematite is similar to the mineral magnetite, but it is different in the fact that while magnetite is magnetic, hematite is not.
     In my post about pyrite I talked about the streak test, which is used to help identify minerals. The streak test is preformed either by scraping a mineral across a piece of unglazed white porcelain or grinding that mineral into powder. This test is useful because two different minerals may have the same crystal shape and color, but different-colored streaks. Some minerals, like hematite, may exhibit more than one color, but their streak always remains the same. Hematite is an example of such a mineral because whether red or silver hematite always leaves a red streak.
     Hematite is one of the most useful minerals that I know of. Hematite is the main iron ore used in industry today, and there are a great many things that are made from iron. The primary use of iron in today’s society is as a component in steel. Specular hematite was once used to make mirrors and it is still used to make some kinds of jewelry today. Synthetic hematite can be made by heating and compressing small pieces of the mineral until they become a solid piece. Interestingly, synthetic hematite is magnetic and has a gray streak. Ground hematite can be used to make a kind of reddish-brown paint, an abrasive, and a polishing powder called “jeweler’s rogue.”
     Hematite deposits in Michigan and Minnesota were once the world’s richest source of the mineral. I have actually toured a hematite mine in northern Michigan and learned that the hematite works like a thermos underground and keeps the place at 40degrese F constantly, even during the springtime when I went! The deposits in Michigan and Minnesota have been mined a great deal and no longer serve as the world’s richest source of hematite, but there is still some left there. Other sources include: England, China, Switzerland, Brazil, Pakistan, Australia, Wisconsin, Alabama, and New Hampshire.
     Hematite is, like many minerals, useful in industry, stunning as a gemstone, and beautiful as a natural specimen. It is pretty spectacular!