Hematite
Click on image for full size
Windows to the Universe original image

Hematite

A piece of hematite may look like just a dark gray blob. That might seem difficult to identify but with a streak test you can easily identify it! Just rub the mineral against a white streak plate and it will form a small amount of red powder!

The largest amounts of hematite are found in sedimentary rocks, often as thin layers between layers of quartz or chert.

Hematite is an important ore of iron. It is also used to make red paint and it is made into jewelry such as beads.

  • Shape: Trigonal (commonly occurs as tabular crystals)
  • Luster: Metallic to sub-metalic to dull
  • Color: Reddish-brown, gray to black
  • Streak: Red
  • Hardness: 5.5 to 6.5 on Mohs Hardness Scale
  • Cleavage: None
  • Fracture: Conchoidal

Last modified April 25, 2003 by Lisa Gardiner.

You might also be interested in:

Cool It! Game

Check out our online store - minerals, fossils, books, activities, jewelry, and household items!...more

MER Opportunity Landing Site - Meridiani Planum

Two Mars Exploration Rover (MER) vehicles landed on Mars in January 2004. The second, named "Opportunity", landed at a place called Meridiani Planum. Meridiani Planum is a flat plain ("planum" means "plain");...more

Meridiani Planum on Mars

Meridiani Planum is the name of a plain on Mars. One of the Mars Exploration Rovers, named Opportunity, landed there. Meridiani Planum is very flat. "Planum" means "plain". Meridiani Planum is near the...more

What’s That Mineral?

Spotting minerals is fun! There are many different types of minerals, each with a different name and a special set of characteristics. So, if you find a mineral that you do not recognize, you can use...more

Quartz

Quartz is one of the most common mineral in Earth’s crust! Silica (Si) and Oxygen (O) are the only elements within pure quartz. If a cooling magma has silica leftover after feldspars form, quartz is likely...more

Mica Minerals

Mica minerals make some rocks sparkle! They are often found in igneous rocks such as granite and metamorphic rocks such as schist. They sparkle because light is reflected on their flat surfaces, which...more

Feldspar

Feldspar is the most common mineral in the Earth’s crust, so you are very likely to find it in the rocks you collect! It is found it all of the three rock types, but is most common in intrusive igneous...more

Olivine

Olivine looks like little green crystals. It is typically found in some igneous and metamorphic rocks. Often the crystals are so small that you need to use your hand lens or magnifying glass to see them...more

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA