Hematite
Mineral Fe2O3
Also called Martite
About it
Silvery black plates, rosettes, and kidney-shaped masses, or soft red earth, that always give a red-brown streak. The chief iron ore; iron roses come from the Swiss Alps and kidney ore from Cumbria, England.
- Type
- Mineral
- Group
- Oxide, hematite group
- Formula
- Fe2O3
- Hardness (Mohs)
- 5–6
- Specific gravity
- 5–5.3
- Streak
- red to red-brown
- Lustre
- metallic, submetallic, earthy
- Crystal system
- Trigonal
- Colours
- steel grey, black, silver grey, red-brown, red
- Transparency
- opaque
- Cleavage and fracture
- none; basal and rhombohedral parting, uneven to subconchoidal fracture
- Magnetic
- Weakly
Typical values: real specimens vary. For more, see mindat.org.