Hematite is iron oxide, also known as rust.
Pronunciation: HEM•ah•tite (accent on capitalized syllable)
Color: reddish brown (rust brown) to black
Streak: reddish brown
Luster: earthy to metallic (specular hematite)
Diaphaneity: opaque
Hardness: 5.5-6.5
Specific gravity: up to 5.26 for crystals, but a given specimen may be porous and consequently have a smaller bulk density.
Cleavage/fracture:
Other distinguishing properties: Hematite occurs in a number of forms (e.g., tabular, micaceous, reniform, fibrous, platy, earthy, oolitic). The red-brown streak is characteristic. Some forms of hematite may be mistaken for magnetite, but magnetite is strongly magnetic and has black streak.
Klein, C., and Hurlbut, C.S., Jr., 1999, Manual of Mineralogy (after James D. Dana) [21st edition, revised]: New York, John Wiley & Sons, 682 p.
Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, The Photo Atlas of Minerals: nhm.org/pam/ This web document was created in 2002 by Vince Cronin
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