Hematite

hematite, also spelled haematite, heavy and relatively hard oxide mineral, ferric oxide (Fe₂O₃), that constitutes the most important iron ore because of its high iron content (70 percent) and its abundance. Its name is derived from the Greek word for “blood,” in allusion to its red colour. Many of the various forms of hematite have separate names. The steel-gray crystals and coarse-grained varieties have a brilliant metallic lustre and are known as specular iron ore; thin scaly types are called micaceous hematite. Much hematite occurs in a soft, fine-grained, earthy form called red ochre or ruddle. Intermediate between these types are compact varieties, often with a reniform surface (kidney ore) or a fibrous structure (pencil ore). Red ochre is used as a paint pigment; a purified form, rouge, is used to polish plate glass.

quartz with hematite inclusions

The most important deposits of hematite are sedimentary in origin. The world’s largest production (nearly 75 million tons of hematite annually) comes from a sedimentary deposit in the Lake Superior district in North America. Other important deposits include those at Minas Gerais, Brazil (where the hematite occurs in metamorphosed sediments); Cerro Bolívar, Venezuela; and Labrador and Quebec, Canada. Hematite is found as an accessory mineral in many igneous rocks; commonly as a weathering product of siderite, magnetite, and other iron minerals; and almost universally as a pigmenting agent of sedimentary and other rocks. For detailed physical properties, see oxide mineral (table).