Mineral · Hematite group
Hematite
Fe2O3
Hematite is iron oxide, occurring as mirror-bright 'iron rose' rosettes from the Alps and Brazil, black botryoidal kidney ore from Cumbria, specular flakes from Michigan and the red pigment of sandstones and Mars. Its red streak identifies it regardless of appearance. Hematite is stable and safe.
| Formula | Fe2O3 |
|---|---|
| IMA status | grandfathered |
| Crystal system | Trigonal |
| Mohs hardness | 5–6.5 |
| Group | Hematite group |
| Type locality | None (known since antiquity) |
| Streak | Cherry red |
| Specific gravity | 5.3 |
| Reference list | IMA List of Minerals (RRUFF) — verify formula and status against the current list |
Fakes and treatments
'Magnetic hematite' beads are a synthetic ferrite; natural hematite is only weakly magnetic.
Elsewhere
Cite this article
Stratum Strata. "Hematite" (Mineral). Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21. https://stratum.black/strata/minerals/hematite. Accessed 2026-09-21.
@misc{stratum-hematite,
title = {Hematite},
author = {{Stratum Strata}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/strata/minerals/hematite}},
year = {2026},
note = {Mineral article, Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21; sources: stratum, wikidata, commons. Accessed 2026-09-21.}
} Citations carry the pack version and the article's as-of date so they resolve to the same text later. The facts themselves belong to the sources listed below; cite those for the science.