History & General Information About Red Iron Oxide
The name Hematite comes from the
Greek word haima meaning blood, in
allusion to its color when in powdered form.
Hematite has been used for thousands of
years as amulets and talismans. It was
used by the ancient Egyptians in
religious ceremonies, and was used as an
inscription stone for passages from the
Book of the Dead. Hematite was also said
to give success in petitions and
lawsuits, and to give protection and
strength and luck to soldiers.
Hematite is the major ore mineral of
iron. It is also used as a pigment in
paint, and in polishing compounds.
The ancient Egyptians used Hematite in
the creation of their magical amulets
such as the carpenter stone and head
rest amulets and several heart amulets.
Some of these amulets were treatments
for madness and inflammation. The Greek
word haima, which means blood, is the
root of Hematite’s name and originates
from the stone’s dark red streak.
Hematite relates to the Mars, the Roman
God of War. The Romans glorified Mars
more than the Greeks did who loathed him
and knew him as Ares. Warriors in Roman
times used Hematite as protection during
battle. So strong was their belief in
the power of Hematite to protect them
that they thought it could even make
them invincible. Some cultures even
believed Hematite formed from blood that
had fallen on the ground of a
battlefield. Red Ochre is a paint that
originated in Native American cultures,
who used it as a face paint.
Hematite ranges in color from a
reddish-brown to gray and even black.
The most widely available forms are the
result of weathering iron bearing
minerals. Hematite often occurs with
intermixed layers of quartz.
Named from the Greek word for blood,
hematite often coats igneous and
sedimentary rocks with a reddish color
similar to rust, a form of hydrated iron
oxide. The hardness value of Hematite is
5.5 to 6.5.
This mineral is abundant in iron mines
in Iran..
The astrological signs of Aries and
Aquarius are represented by Hematite.
Hematite was used for thousands of years
as amulets and talismans and was used by
Egyptians in religious ceremonies. Some
believe hematite enhances physical
energy and vitality. It’s believed to
calm emotions and boost self-esteem. It
is also said to enhance memory and
intellect. Some say it helps with mental
clarity and concentration and it’s
sometimes used for help when studying.
Some believe if you hold a piece of
hematite and ask a question, the answer
will come to you. It’s been thought that
hematite could help a person win a
petition or lawsuit and that it would
provide protection and strength to
soldiers in battle. It works best when
work on a belt.
Medicinally hematite has been used to
calm hysteria, cure blood diseases,
soothe skin ulcerations and burns, treat
bilious disorders and help inflammation
of the eyelids.
Hematite is commonly found throughout
the world. The primary source for
hematite is a sedimentary deposit in
IRAN. Hematite physically occurs in many
forms: specular ore (steel gray color,
shiny crystals); micaceous hematite
(gray, scaly flakes), red ocher (soft,
fine-grain, red powder); kidney ore
(massive, gray botryoidal form), and
pencil ore (gray, fibrous crystals).
Because hematite has a high iron content
(70%), it is primarily used for smelting
iron. Hematite has been used since
ancient times as a red pigment in paints
and glazes. It was also used for seals,
beads, and small carvings since the
early 3rd millineum. Hematite is still
used as a paint pigment. It is also used
in jewelers' rouge for polishing glass.
Hematite can be used to produce the
sparkle in aventurine ceramic glazes.
Hematite is one of the most common
minerals. The color of most red rock,
such as sandstone, is caused by small
amounts of Hematite. It may also be
responsible for the red color of Garnet,
Spinel, and to some extent, Ruby.
All non-crystalline forms of Hematite
are supposedly transformations of the
mineral Limonite that lost water,
possibly due to heat.
Hematite is rather variable in its
appearance - it can be in reddish brown,
ocherous, masses, dark silvery-grey
scaled masses, silvery-grey crystals,
and dark-grey masses, to name a few.
What they all have in common is a
rust-red streak.
Hematite has a metallic or earthy
luster. The hardness of hematite is
about 5 on Mohs hardness scale. It has
no cleavage and breaks with an uneven
fracture. The reddish landscape of Mars
is due to the oxidized iron on its
surface. This tells us that water and
oxygen must have been present on Mars at one time.
Red Iron Oxide Geological Setting
Large ore bodies of hematite are
usually of sedimentary origin; also
found in high-grade ore bodies in
metamorphic rocks due to contact
metasomatism, and occasionally as a
sublimate on igneous extrusive rocks
("lavas") as a result of volcanic
activity. It is also found coloring
soils red all over the planet...
Red Iron Oxide Packaging
All grades of Hematite are available in various types of packaging:
1. 1 Ton Jumbo bags
2. 25kg package for powder
Red Iron Oxide Physical Properties
Hardness |
5.5 to 6.5 |
Specific gravity |
5.3 (slightly above average for metallic minerals) |
Cleavage |
Absent however there is a parting on two planes. |
Color |
Steel or silver gray to black in some forms and red to brown in earthy forms. Sometimes tarnished with irredescent colors when in a hydrated form (called Turgite). |
Fracture |
Uneven |
Crystal Habits |
Tabular crystals of varying thickness sometimes twinned, micaceous (specular),
botryoidal and massive. Also earthy or oolitic. |
Luster |
Metallic or dull in earthy and oolitic forms |
Streak |
Blood red to brownish red for earthy forms |
Transparency crystals |
Crystals are opaque |
Crystal System |
Trigonal; bar 3 2/m |
Associated Minerals |
Jasper (a variety of quartz) in banded
iron formations (BIF or Tiger Iron), dipyramidal quartz,
rutile, and pyrite among others. |
Best Field Indicators |
Associated |
Specific Gravity |
5.26 |
Pleochroism |
Deep red-brown/yellow-brown
(usually masked by hematite's
red-brown color) |
Class |
Oxides |
Hematite Chemical
Composition |
Fe2O3 |
Characteristics |
Refractive
indices of 1.49 and 1.66 causing
a significant double refraction
effect (when a clear crystal is
placed on a single line, two
lines can then be observed),
effervesces easily with dilute
acids and may be fluorescent,
phosphorescent, thermo luminescence and triboluminescent. |
Metaphysical Properties of Red Iron Oxidee
Hematite is said to enhance one's physical energy and vitality, and to calm emotions and boost self-esteem. It is also said to enhance memory and intellect.
Hematite is said to help strengthen the circulatory system and to help in the treatment of blood and kidney disorders.
Color
Hematite is a mineral appearing as
metallic gray, red gray, red brown with
a metallic luster; it may even look more
like a metal than a mineral when
encountered in nature. The name Hematite
originates from the Greek word for
blood, haima, which refers to the dark
red color of the mineral’s streak. When
crushed, Hematite will turn water red.
Specular Hematite (Hematite with a
reflective finish) has iridescent colors
in its finish. Thin slices of Hematite appear red and transparent.
Crystal
Hematite crystals are members of the
Trigonal System group, which is a subset
of the Hexagonal system. It is also
conchoidal and may appear as a phantom
within other crystals.
Forms
Hematite appears in many forms in
nature, such as Kidney Ore, a bumpy ore
that has an appearance likened to a
kidney; Hematite Rose, a formation with
crystals in the shape of petals; Tiger
Iron, a sedimentary rock with Hematite
mixed into its multiple layers; Oolitic,
sedimentary deposits of small, circular
Hematite grains; and Micaceous Hematite,
a scaly, shiny stone valued for
decorative uses. Its soft Earthy, form
is called Red Ochre. Hematite often
appears within other crystals such as
Aventurine or as phantom crystals.
Recommended Filled of Application
Kind of powder |
Talc |
Mica |
Kaolin |
Red Iron oxide |
Fluorine |
Dolomite |
Calcite |
Bentonite |
Barite |
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Plastic |
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