Physical Properties |
|
| Chemical formula | Fe2O3 |
| Class | Oxide |
| Crystal system | Hexagonal (rhombohedral) |
| Habit | Aggregate Massive Rosette Botryoidal Reniform Micaceous/foliated Tabular |
| Color | Red-brown to black Steel gray |
| Hardness | 5.5 to 6.5 |
| Specific gravity | 4.9 to 5.3 |
| Cleavage | None |
| Fracture | Subconchoidal |
| Luster | Submetallic |
| Transparency | Translucent to opaque |
| Streak | Brick red |
Optical Properties |
|
| PPL | Usually opaque If thin enough, may be deep red |
| XPL | Usually opaque If thin enough, may be deep red |
| δ | 0.28 |
| after Perkins, 371 |
Hematite in Hand Sample
Hematite
Oolitic hematite
Specular hematite
Purplish-blackish botryoidal hematite with whitish, radiating barite and reddish quartz on quartzite
Specular hematite in banded iron formation
Hematite in 3D
Hematite concretion, Two Medicine Formation
Distinctive hematite concretions and titaniferous magnetite mark the transition from the underlying Virgelle Formation to the dinosaur-rich Two Medicine Formation near Bynum, Montana. – Hematite concretion, Two Medicine Formation – Download Free 3D model by callanbentley (@callanbentley) [4453575]
Hematite in Thin Section
Hematite can be tricky. If it’s too thick, it’ll be as opaque as any metallic mineral. If it’s thin enough, you can see its reddish color in both PPL and XPL.
Thin Section GigaPans
Hematite cement in conglomerate, plane polars
Hematite cement in conglomerate, crossed polars
Hematite, Plane Polars
Hematite thin enough to display its red color in plane polarized light. Magnification: 100x Rock: metagranodiorite Click here to watch this grain rotate in c…
Hematite, Crossed Polars
Hematite thin enough to display its red color in cross polarized light. Magnification: 100x Rock: metagranodiorite Click here to watch this grain rotate in p…
Conglomerate with Hematite Cement, Plane Polars
Conglomerate with hematite cement in plane polarized light. Magnification: 40x Click here to watch this rotate in crossed polars: https://youtu.be/aV-6EU32zT…
Conglomerate with Hematite Cement, Crossed Polars
Conglomerate with hematite cement in cross polarized light. Magnification: 40x Click here to watch this rotate in plane polars: https://youtu.be/hdxyuBr9m_8 …