Hematite Identification Guide

What Hematite Looks Like

Hematite (Fe₂O₃) is the most important iron ore and one of the most recognizable minerals because of its red-brown streak. It is wildly variable in appearance: bright silvery-grey specular hematite with a metallic luster, dull reddish earthy masses (red ochre), botryoidal "kidney ore," and micaceous flaky aggregates. Despite shiny metallic specimens looking black, the streak is always reddish-brown.

• Color: steel-grey to black (metallic), red to red-brown (earthy)
• Transparency: opaque
• Luster: metallic (specular) to dull/earthy
• Habit: tabular crystals, botryoidal (kidney ore), micaceous, massive, earthy

Step-by-Step Field-ID Checklist

1. Streak test — do this first. Scrape on unglazed porcelain; a rusty red-brown streak is diagnostic even for black metallic specimens.
2. Heft it. Hematite feels heavy (high density).
3. Test magnetism. Most hematite is non- to only weakly magnetic (unless it contains maghemite/magnetite).
4. Check hardness. It scratches glass but the streak still rubs off reddish.
5. Note the form. Botryoidal kidney ore, mirror-bright specular flakes, or red earthy masses all point to hematite.

Key Diagnostic Tests

• Mohs hardness: 5–6 — scratches glass (though earthy forms feel softer/smear).
• Streak: red to red-brown — the single most reliable test.
• Cleavage: none; uneven to sub-conchoidal fracture (parting on some crystals).
• Specific gravity: ~5.0–5.3 — distinctly heavy.
• Magnetism: generally non-magnetic to weakly magnetic.
• Acid: slowly soluble in hot HCl; no fizz.

Common Look-Alikes and How to Tell Them Apart

• Magnetite: strongly magnetic with a black streak; hematite is weakly magnetic with a red streak.
• Ilmenite: black streak (to brownish) and weakly magnetic; differs by streak from hematite's clear red.
• Galena: metallic but cubic, much softer (2.5), grey-black streak, and very heavy with cubic cleavage; hematite has no cleavage and a red streak.
• Goethite/limonite: yellow-brown streak; hematite's streak is redder.
• Hematite imitations (man-made "hematine"/magnetic hematite): strongly magnetic and uniform — natural hematite is usually weakly magnetic at most.

The defining test set is the red-brown streak + high density + hardness 5–6 + no/weak magnetism, which cleanly separates hematite from magnetite and galena.

Where Hematite Is Found

Hematite is abundant worldwide, forming in banded iron formations, sedimentary beds, hydrothermal veins, and as a weathering product. Major sources include the Lake Superior region (USA), Minas Gerais (Brazil), the Pilbara (Australia), the classic kidney ore of Cumbria (England), and specular hematite from Elba and Switzerland.

Quick Field Summary

A heavy, opaque iron mineral — whether silvery-metallic, kidney-shaped, micaceous, or dull red — that leaves a rusty red-brown streak and is at most weakly magnetic is hematite, distinct from strongly magnetic black-streaked magnetite and soft cubic galena.