How to identify Hematite

To correctly identify Hematite (Hematite), check each of these features in order. Many rocks and minerals look alike, so cross-reference multiple properties before deciding.

Step-by-step identification

1. 1

   Color

   Overall color and any zoning or banding

   Variable: steel-gray, silver-gray, black, reddish-brown, or red. The color can be metallic, dull, or earthy.

2. 2

   Luster

   How the surface reflects light: metallic, vitreous, dull

   Metallic (specular hematite), submetallic, dull, or earthy.

3. 3

   Texture

   Grain size and surface feel: coarse, fine, glassy

   Can be massive, granular, botryoidal (kidney ore), reniform, mammillary, micaceous (specular hematite), columnar, or oolitic.

4. 4

   Crystal Form

   Shape of visible crystals or crystal faces

   Typically forms in the trigonal system. Crystals are often tabular, rhombohedral, or platy. Massive, botryoidal, and micaceous forms are common.

5. 5

   Cleavage

   How it breaks: flat cleavage planes vs irregular fracture

   None. Hematite exhibits no true cleavage, but it can show a parting parallel to the basal pinacoid {0001} and rhombohedral faces {1011}.

6. 6

   Geological Environment

   The rock formation and setting where it occurs

   Found in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. Common in Banded Iron Formations (BIFs), hydrothermal veins, contact metamorphic deposits, and as an alteration product in weathered rocks and soils.

Key Facts

Hardness

5.5-6.5 on the Mohs scale

Specific Gravity

4.9-5.3

Crystal System

Trigonal

Color

Steel-gray, black, reddish-brown, or red

Luster

Metallic, submetallic, dull, or earthy

Transparency

Opaque

Fracture

Uneven to subconchoidal

Cleavage

None (parting sometimes observed)

Composition

Iron oxide (Fe2O3)

Physical characteristics

• Crystal Habit: Massive, botryoidal, reniform, mammillary, micaceous (specular hematite), columnar, tabular, rhombohedral, oolitic.
• Cleavage Type: None. Parting on {0001} and {1011} is sometimes observed due to twinning or exsolution lamellae.
• Fracture Type: Uneven to subconchoidal.
• Tenacity: Brittle.
• Luster Type: Metallic, submetallic, dull, or earthy.

Explore Hematite